Under-18s and Under-16 to take part in international tournament
Shrewsbury Town’s Youth Team get their Iber Cup journey underway today as they take on Danish team Slagelse B&i.
The Under-18s have travelled to Denmark for the international youth tournament, which will take place over the coming five days.
Prior to travelling to the tournament, Academy Manager Eric Ramsay spoke to ShrewsWeb to explain how entry to the tournament came about.
“It was an invite that came through prior to Christmas last year”, explained Eric.
“It’s a well-renowned youth tournament on a world scale. If anyone’s interested then this year’s promotional video can be found on YouTube and it looks incredible.
“It’s attended by teams worldwide and it’s got a really competitive feel to it - lots of fans, big crowds. It’s something we didn’t experience last pre-season and I think it will set us up really well.”
Whilst the primary aim of the competition will be to get game time, Eric also believes it will be important in bonding the group.
“We’ve opted for accommodation that will hopefully lend itself to bonding”, said Ramsay.
“The players will all stay in what is a school hall in effect and they will all be in the same room all the time and living in really close quarters.
“It seems to me as though this group is already really tight given that they had a year together two seasons ago as an Under-15s and 16s group, so I’m hoping that the fact that they will spend a week away, living very closely to one another, will enhance that further.
“For some it will be the first time that they’ve been away in an environment like that, where not only is it the shock of being away from home, but also tournament football and the draining effect of playing day in, day out.
“That in addition to all the other stuff socially will be a big challenge, but that is why we’ve put it in the programme and I’m hoping it will have benefits for this season, but also the bigger picture because it’s an experience you might not get again.”
The Under-15s and 16s have also travelled to the tournament and they have been placed in a group alongside Norway’s Ullern, Sweden’s ÄLVSJö Aik and Denmark’s Esbjerg FB E.
Full details on the tournament can be found here - https://scandinavia.ibercup.com/en/matches/calendar/U-18