We are pleased to confirm that 14 of our academy stars will represent their county at this month’s Super Cup NI tournament, a new record for player selection within the club’s academy.
Alongside player representation for five of the six overall county squads involved in the annual competition at both junior and premier level, 2010 player Alfie Mulvenna has also been selected to guest for Glasgow Rangers.
Six of the club’s academy players will feature for Co. Antrim Juniors this month, with Phoenix Blayney, Jude Crawford, Finlay Miller, Alex Kennedy, Callum Tweedie and Jamison Rainey all selected. The team will face Blackburn Rovers, DME Football and Co. Tyrone in the Group C of the competition.
Zach O’Hara will represent Co. Armagh Juniors in Group B, where he will face Glasgow Celtic, Charlton Athletic and Co. Down. Teammate Daniel Hashim will also be involved in this group, having been selected to play for Co. Down.
Completing the club’s junior county selections is Tomas O’Kane, who will play for Co. Londonderry in Group D. Tomas will begin his tournament with a mouth-watering clash against West Ham United and will also face St. Francis and Stevenage during the group stages.
Guesting for Glasgow Rangers at Junior level, Alfie Mulvenna will feature in Group A, taking on FC America, Co. Fermanagh and St. Patrick’s.
At Premier level, a further three academy players have been selected to represent Co. Antrim at this year’s Super Cup NI. Zak Robinson, Alex McAlister and Jamie McIntyre will compete in Group A and will face Middlesborough, Shoshi and Co. Armagh.
When facing off against Co. Armagh, the players will face off against fellow Larne player Alex Eakin who will also take part in Group A for Armagh.
Matthew Hayman will also be involved at Premier level, having been selected for Co. Tyrone. Drawn in Group E, Matthew’s side will face Hamilton Accies, Glasgow Rangers and Otago.
Commenting on record high levels of player involvement, the club’s Technical Director Andy Mitchell said:
“We wish all of our players involved in this year’s Super Cup NI a successful tournament. It is a great achievement to represent your county and each player should be very proud of the hard work and dedication which has resulted in being selected for the competition.
“From the club’s point of view, I am extremely pleased for everyone involved within our academy whose commitment to developing our players has led to record levels of player selection at county level. Credit must go to all of the coaches involves and this once again demonstrates the great strides we are making as an academy set-up.”
This year’s Super Cup NI will begin with the traditional opening parade on Sunday 21st July before a week of matches commences on Monday 22nd July. A full list of fixtures and additional competition information can be found at https://supercupni.com/.
