IFA Programme 2016

NORTHERN IRELAND HOSTS INTERNATIONAL CUP

The Women’s International Cup will feature three of the powerhouses of the women’s game - USA, England and France - alongside Northern Ireland. The round-robin games will be staged at Ballymena Showgrounds, Mourneview Park in Lurgan, Portadown’s Shamrock Park and at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. Running from October 18-23, the U19 tournament is a key part of the association’s preparations for hosting the UEFA Women’s U19 Championship Finals in August 2017. Irish FA National Women’s Coach Alfie Wylie said: “This is a fantastic opportunity for our players to play against some of the best teams in the world. We only have to look at the track records of all three teams to understand the calibre of their player development pathways to consistently produce talented players year on year.” He pointed out the US women’s national team are the current world champions and said many of the young American girls taking part in this month’s tournament will no doubt aspire to play in the full US women’s national team one day. Alfie added: “France are the current UEFA Women’s U19 champions, having recently secured the title in Slovakia, while the England women’s national team did exceptionally well at the Women’s World Cup in 2015 with Mark Sampson’s side collecting the bronze medal. I have no doubt that the England U19 team will come to Northern Ireland with extremely high expectations.” Both England and France have qualified for the UEFA Women’s Under-19 Championship Finals 11 times, with France winning the overall title on four occasions and England winning it once. Northern Ireland will warm up for next summer’s UEFA Under-19 Women’s Championship by hosting a mini-tournament across four venues later this month.

Fixtures for the Women’s International Cup are as follows: Tuesday 18 October England v USA Ballymena Showgrounds. Kick-off 14:00 Northern Ireland v France Ballymena Showgrounds. Kick-off 19:30 Thursday 20 October France v USA Mourneview Park, Lurgan. Kick-off 12:00 Northern Ireland v England Shamrock Park, Portadown. Kick-off 19:30 Sunday 23 October France v England National Football Stadium at Windsor Park. Kick-off 12.00 USA v Northern Ireland National Football Stadium at Windsor Park Kick-off 16:30 Tickets for the tournament are now on sale via Ticketmaster. They cost £5 for adults and £3 for children (aged under 16). Further information about the Women’s International Cup and the UEFA Women’s U19 Championship can be found on the tournament’s official website www.irishfa.com/uefawu19 .

@WU19EURO2017 @UEFAWU192017

68

www.irishfa.com