Kerry face Drogheda in Kennedy opener
YOUNG aspiring soccer players from around the county will be taking centre stage next week when they head out to represent Kerry in the annual Kennedy Cup Competition
The extravaganza of football starts in the University of Limerick campus on Monday next and runs until Friday, June 17.
The Tournament comprises of each of the 32 affiliated leagues entering a squad of twenty U-14 year old players to compete over an entire week with additional competitions for those teams which do not progress to the latter stages of the Kennedy Cup itself.
The tournament will be played in eight adjoining pitches and will see budding young soccer players from every county getting their chance to show their prowess at the beautiful game.
Cross-channel scouts are often in attendance vetting players of exceptional talent and it is a great window of opportunity for the 14year olds to exhibit their skills and grab the attention of observers.
Kerry won the national competition for the very first time 2 years ago under manager Brendan Hogan and members of that team are now playing with Kerry in the SSE Airtricity under 17 league.
They got to the knock-out stages last year and were unlucky to lose to Galway in the quarter-final going down 2-1 courtesy of a late goal.
The competition is historically the breeding ground for all future Irish underage and senior International players. Roy Keane captained Cork to success in 1984, Damian Duff and Ian Harte were members of the successful D.D.S.L. teams while more recently John O’Shea was a member of the Waterford squad that won in 1995.
This year Kerry are in Group 6 and the other teams in the group are North Tipperary, Sligo/Leitrim, and Drogheda. Kerry begin their campaign on Monday June 12 against Drogheda with a 6pm kick off. They have two games on Tuesday the first is at 12 30pm against Sligo/Leitrim and at 6pm they play North Tipperary. Their ultimate aim will be to try and win the group and if they do they will meet the winners from Group 7 who are NDLL, Roscommon, South Tipperary and Wicklow.
The manager of the team this year is Ken Robinson and his backroom team are coaches Thomas Kelly and Joe O’Reilly while the physiotherapist is John Kerley and Jimmy Clancy is the Head of Delegation.
BIG TURNOUT FOR PRESS NIGHT
PLAYERS and their parents and the Kerry team management and coaches and back-room staff gathered at The Rose Hotel in Tralee on Monday night for the annual press night which gave the local media an opportunity to meet with the team and their coaches.
The atmosphere was very upbeat with all the mentors and players in a positive frame of mind and bent on ensuring that the team acquits themselves well in the national competition
The chairman of the Kerry Schoolboys League Martin Conway thanked all the management team for the hard work they put in over the last 4 months preparing the squad for the competition and the squad of players for all their commitment and dedication.
He was loud in his praise of the boys parents who took the boys to training over this period and gave them all the encouragement they needed.
He said the Kerry Schoolboys League were very grateful to The Rose Hotel for sponsoring the team with two new strips and Glencar Construction who sponsored bags.