Portadown Football Club wish Harry Murphy, Jake Willis, Odhran Skelton, Sam Glenfield and former player Timmy Martin all the best as they head to the United States of America to take part in the Dallas Cup with the NIFL Scholarship Academy U19 squad.
The Dallas Cup is the most prestigious youth soccer tournament in the United States and it is widely regarded as one of the most competitive in the world, it was founded by the Texas Longhorns Soccer Club in 1980 as a way for the club to return the friendship shown to their teams that had travelled throughout Europe.
Held during Easter Week, the invitation-only Dallas Cup selects the best teams out of the hundreds of qualified applications the tournament receives each year. The tournament is currently comprised of nine age groups in the Boys category from U-12 through to U-19, including the prestigious U-19 Gordon Jago Super Group and traditionally consists of approximately 40% international teams, 40% state-side teams and 20% Dallas area teams. Each year more than 100,000 spectators watch teams from all over the world participate to see who returns home with the Dallas Cup Champion’s prize, the coveted Boot and Ball trophy.
The long list of players that have particapted in the Dallas Cup and have gone on to have professional and international careers includes the likes of David Beckham, Clint Dempsey, Chicharito, Landon Donovan, Raul, Andrea Pirlo and Wayne Rooney, as well as rising stars like Bukayo Saka. In fact, Dallas Cup alumni have gone on to play in over 500 World Cup matches.
The NIFL Scholarship Academy U19 squad are in a group with FC Dallas Youth, Sports Paradize Soccer Academy & FC Florida Preparatory, with their progress being able to be tracked via
https://www.dallascup.com/schedules-and-results
Portadown FC wishes all five players the very best of luck for the tournament.