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Paris beckons for talented youngsters

Wednesday, 13 August 2008

YOUNGSTERS at a North Dublin football club will be following in the footsteps of some of the greatest players in the world when they step out onto the hallowed turf of the Parc de Princes stadium in Paris next month.
The bright lights of the French capital await Shelbourne’s Under 12 starlets who will be representing Ireland in the World Finals of the Danone Nations Cup.
Shelbourne’s team, which includes four youngsters from Swords - Yemi Rahman, Gareth McCaffrey, Craig Rafferty and Oisin Lynch – triumphed over 78 teams in the competition to earn the National title and the right to represent Ireland at the finals, which take place from September 4-7.
The Danone Nations Cup has become the world's top football tournament for children in the 10-12 age group. Forty countries spread across five continents have been taking part in the year long competition that is now reaching its climax.
The Irish team will travel to Paris on September 4, but will not know who they face until the draw takes place that evening.
Group games take place on September 5, with the top two from every group progressing to Saturday's play-offs, while the bottom two teams will still play the same number of games to determine final rankings.
Every team will get to play at least twice in Parc De Princes on Sunday's final day, which will be attended by Zinedine Zidane and a number of other French international stars.
The Swords quartet is looking forward to playing for their club and representing their country against teams from all over the world.
Gareth and Oisin have been playing with Shelbourne under manager, Jim Maguire, since Under 7, while Yemi and Craig are more recent additions to the team.
Gareth McCaffrey scored a hat-trick in the opening game of the team’s national final campaign and the talented striker will be looking to repeat this success in Paris.
Oisin Lynch said they are all really excited about the prospect of going to France.
“It almost doesn’t seem real,” he stated.
“Jim (Maguire) told us about it months ago and we weren’t really thinking about it.
“Only when we won the Dublin District Schoolboys’ League (DDSL) tournament did it start to sink in that we might have a good chance of winning the competition. It’s like a dream come true.”
The talented young squad has something to look forward to even before they set off in September as Republic of Ireland and Reading star, Kevin Doyle, will be taking the team for a special training session this month.
Doyle, who is ‘Godfather’ to the team, will take them through their paces and offer his expertise before they travel to France in pursuit of world glory.
Doyle’s predecessors in the role of ‘Godfather’ include former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland defender, Denis Irwin, and Doyle’s teammate on the Irish squad, Shay Given.
Speaking at a recent training session, manager Jim Maguire spoke of the team’s excitement ahead of the trip.
“The lads are just overjoyed at the prospect of heading to the World Finals,” said Jim.
“To be that age and given the opportunity to live your dream by representing your country is something amazing.
“I’m delighted to be a part of it and I’m immensely proud of each of them.”
This is the ninth year of the Danone Nations Cup, and the sixth year that Ireland has participated.

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