On June 19th, a team of ten players from Ireland travelled to South Africa to compete in a Primary Schools World Cup, at the same time as the real event was happening:
The tournament was run by the Lycee Jules Verne, the French school based in Johannesburg and it was predominantly for French schools that are located around the globe:
The tournament was run on a 7/a/side basis, with twenty six teams competing:
The Irish team consisted of five players from the Lycee de Francais (LFI), the French school based in Dublin, and five from St Kilians DSD in Clonskeagh: The team played under the ‘Eurocampus’ name:
The cost of the trip was funded by various events that were completed in the six months prior to the team’s departure:
The Eurocampus team arrived during the small hours of Sunday morning into Johannesburg Airport:
The team was ferried, along with the Ghana team, to the World Cup venue in Sandton, where they would stay for the duration of the tournament: The day was spent with the formalities of the Opening Ceremony, speeches and a Barbeque for all the competing teams:
The following day saw the competition start in earnest: After a parade of all the teams through the streets of Soweto, the action started in the Nike Football Stadium in Soweto – this was a special arrangement for one day of the tournament:
Ireland opened their account with an impressive 4/1 win against Vietnam: Having taken an early lead, the Irish added a second before Vietnam struck back to reduce the arrears from the penalty spot, after a handball in the penalty area: However, they bounced back to score two further goals and win the game comfortably:
Tuesday, June 22nd saw a break from the action, though the team had a busy schedule: They visited Pilanesburg Safari Park and then went to see the group game between Mexico and Uruguay in Rustenburg: The following day saw them complete their last two group games: First up was Kenya, who had defeated Egypt on the opening day: Ireland made a dream start, scoring from the penalty spot in the third minute but they were pegged back almost immediately when Kenya scored with a powerful header from a well delivered corner: Ireland restored its lead just before halftime, before adding two further goals in the second half to end with a 4/1 winning margin:
Up to this point, all the goals had been shared by Philip Redmond and Nathan Fitzpatrick: This changed in the last group game against Egypt, where goals by Clovis Byrne, Antonio Cicognati and Alexis Lachaux resulted in a comfortable 3/0 victory:
Thursday, June 24th was another rest day, with visits to the Old Fort Jail, the Courthouse and the Apartheid Muesem:
Friday was back to competition and the Irish faced a tricky tie against Mozambique, who had finished runners/up to France in their group: In a very tight game, where defences were on top, it looked destined to go to penalties: The Irish defenders, Rianne Rowan and Ellen Nolan, were giving nothing away, as were the opposing defenders: Then, with only two minutes to go, a long clearance by the Irish keeper, Tichina Fonteyn, deceived his opposite number in the Mozambique goal to hand the Irish the edge in the tie:
Saturday, June 26th was a busy day for the Irish boys and girls: They faced a tough quarter/final in the morning against South Africa: The other teams in the quarters were England, France, USA, Canada, Nigeria and Congo: In another close game, Ireland took a two goal lead into halftime, thanks to a brace by Nathan Fitzpatrick: The home country roared back to reduce the deficit midway through the second half: Ireland had to live through the nervous closing moments, with Tichina Fonteyn’s excellent handling in goal acting as a calming influence during this period:
The afternoon saw the arrival of Marcel Desailly and Bernard Lama, two former French international players of note:
The Irish team busied themselves with their semi/final clash with Nigeria, who had overcome Canada on penalties:
The Irish team showed no ill effects in the heat and raced into an early three goal lead, with the pick of the goals being a solo effort by Alexis Lachaux: The Nigerian team threw everything into the second half and deservedly pulled one back midway through this period: However, they weren’t able to add to this against a solid Irish backline and Ireland progressed to the final, where they were destined to meet USA, who overcame England on penalties in the semis:
So, the tournament closed with Ireland facing USA in the final of the Primary Schools World Cup final on Sunday, June 27th: The morning kick off was well attended and the game proved to be one of the best during the competition: The only strike of the game came as the game approached halftime: A clever corner by Antonio Cicognati to the edge of the box was volleyed to the net by team captain, Philip Redmond: The Irish nearly extended their lead just before halftime when Nathan Fitzpatrick’s shot went narrowly wide:
The second half saw an evenly contested affair between two well matched teams: The Irish reduced the American team to shooting from long range, with Fonteyn in the Irish goal dealing with these threats comfortably: The introduction of the Irish subs – Clovis Byrne, Zoe Barbier and Antonia Scholz - added new impetus to the Irish team and they never really looked likely to relinquish their lead against an increasingly frustrated USA team: Indeed, the Irish team probably had the best chances in the dying minutes, with Fitzpatrick and Scholz going close:
The final whistle meant that, at least, one Irish team had not only made it to South Africa, but had also come back as Champions!!
Team squad: Philip Redmond, Tichina Fonteyn, Rianne Rowan, Ellen Nolan, Clovis Byrne, Nathan Fitzpatrick, Zoe Barbier, Antonia Scholz, Antonio Cicognati, Alexis Lachaux:
Coaches: Albert Sugg & Mikael Allain
FINISHING POSITIONS:
1st Ireland
2nd USA
3rd England
4th Nigeria
5th Canada
6th France
7th South Africa
8th Congo
9th Mozambique
10thTunisia
11th Egypt
12th Kenya
13th Malaysia
14th Morocco
15th Norway
16th USA (Chicago)
17th Ghana
18th Vietnam
19th Hong Kong
20th Djibuti
21st Denmark
22nd Madagascar
23rd Congo 2
24th Comores Islands
25th Zimbabwe
26th Cameroon