Brit pack ‘will be winners on and off the pitch’

FOOTBALL DANNY Schweiger and Mark Stewart are targeting silverware following their appointment as co-managers of the Maccabi GB U16 boys’ football squad ahead of next year’s European Maccabi Games in Budapest.

Having represented MGB at 17 Maccabiahs, EMG and Pan American Maccabi Games, Schweiger is one of GB’s most decorated athletes.

The seven-time medal winner said: “I felt it was time to give something back. The Maccabi spirit is simply in my blood and as my playing days are numbered, it was obvious that management was the natural progression for me.

“Returning home from Budapest with a harmonious squad who have connected to their Jewish identity, the Maccabi spirit and hopefully a medal would be a dream come true for me.”

Fellow Mancunian Stewart began playing Jewish football aged 10 for South Manchester Sports Club. He later went on to captain and manage the team before representing MGB in 2003. He went on to win bronze as part of the Masters 35s squad in Israel in 2013.

Stewart remarked: “The experiences I’ve had with MGB had a huge effect on my enthusiasm to stay involved with the Maccabi movement — either as a player or manager.

“We want our squad to be winners on and off the pitch in Budapest. We want the players to feel that they have given their all to the competition but also to have experienced a life-affirming ten days, which helps to shape them both as footballers and as young men. Win or lose, the boys will come away from the tournament desperate to do it all again, just like we have.”

The management set-up is completed by assistant-boss Sammy Kingston and coach Steve Grenfell.