An 18-strong squad of talented young footballers are travelling to Germany this Easter weekend to represent the City of Birmingham at the 41st Internationale A-Jugend-Osterturnier. The Under-18 Birmingham County FA team will be joining teams from all over Europe to take part in the Tournament which is held annually in Birmingham's partner City, Frankfurt, in honour of goalkeeper Theo Panzer. The trip is jointly funded by Birmingham City Council, Birmingham County FA and the Fußballclub Germania 06 eV. Schwanheim, but all the foreign players will be staying at the homes of members of local football teams. The tournament will provide the players a great opportunity to compete in an international arena and the chance to meet young people from around Europe with a shared love of football in a spirit of friendship. Birmingham will be joined by defending champions Budapest (Hungary), Bern (Switzerland), Karlsbad (Czech Republic), and four teams from Germany. The squad have been preparing for the tournament at Aston Villa's Bodymoor Heath Training Ground, where according to Team Spokesman, Steve Poole; the excitement has started to set in: "Everyone is really looking forward to going - it's a great chance for us to be ambassadors for the city of Birmingham," he said. "Part of that means trying our very best to end up as winners! "The aim of the County Representative side is to give youngsters the chance to play with and against others of similar ability, with the hope of furthering their football career, so I am sure the players will really benefit from the experience." Birmingham FA compete on a regional and national level against other County FA's, and have reached the final of the prestigious FA County Youth Cup three times in the last four year, winning the trophy on two occasions. The team are also defending champions in the Midlands Youth Championships, having won the title for the past three seasons! There are several success stories over the years for players who have been part of the squad, this season's first choice goalkeeper Aaron O'Malley has spent time with Bradford FC, whilst three of last season's regulars have made it into the first team at Kidderminster FC. SQUAD IN FULL: Aaron O'Malley (Lye Town), Will Stannage (Tamworth), Exodus Geoghaghan (Sutton Coldfield Town), Rob Rencher (Sutton Coldfield Town), Adam Hughes (Sutton Coldfield Town), Solomon Griffiths (Rushall Olympic), Richard Langford (Kidderminster Harriers), Simon Fitter (Kidderminster Harriers), Jamie Hood (Bedworth Utd), Ryan Murphy (Boldmere St Michaels), Matthew Lamb (Nuneaton Borough), Andy Crabtree (Nuneaton Borough), David Blenkinsopp (Highway), Dean Perrow ((Sutton Coldfield Town), Craig Hancox (Oldbury), Phil Garner (Tamworth), Scott Lower (Kidderminster Harriers), Michael Xiourouppa (Kidderminster Harriers) An 18-strong squad lifted the Theo Panzer Trophy at Frankfurt's Ostertournier, winning 4 out of their 5 games against European competition. The group were asked to represent the City of Birmingham in the tournament and were thrilled to bring the title home on their first appearance in Europe. "The players learned a great deal from the experience which I am sure will benefit their game when they rejoin their clubs," said Team Spokesman, Steve Poole. "It was an honour to represent the City of Birmingham - a Lord Mayor's Reception awaits the team so it's great we can take the trophy with us!" Saturday Sunday Final: Birmingham 2-0 Swchanheim |