Ireland has been drawn against 2015 World bronze medallists Brazil, as well as the USA and Great Britain for the 2016 International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) Pre-Paralympic Tournament which will take place in Salou, Spain from April 30th to May 7th.
Ireland’s first game will be against Brazil on Sunday, May 1st at 4pm. They will face Great Britain at 6pm on Monday, May 2nd and the USA on Tuesday, May 3rd at 6pm (all times are in local time), while the draw for the Paralympic Games in Rio this year will also take place at this tournament.
Speaking about the news, Ireland Team Manager Barry Ferguson said: “We are really looking forward to the tournament and are delighted with the draw. We are really happy that we are playing the extra game, as we knew beforehand that one group would only have three teams in it so we’re delighted to be in the group with four teams.
“There’s no doubt that it will be tough, particularly as we play three games in three days, but the experience will be really beneficial for the squad. We’re really looking forward to the matches, as we haven’t played USA in some time so it’ll be interesting to see how they are playing.”
“We met Brazil a few years back and that was another very tight game, while the match against Great Britain will be very competitive and close without doubt,” he concluded.
Elsewhere, tournament favourites Ukraine, who are the 2015 World Championships silver medallists, are in Group A, along with the Netherlands and Argentina.
You can follow all of the action from the tournament including pictures and results on our dedicated competitions page here.
