NAAS, 16 July 2001: by Trish Whelan. They may have been wearing shirts supporting Man Utd, Liverpool, even Bayern Munich but all the 70 soccer mad youngsters who took part in the Naas AFC’s Mini World Cup day had only one thing on their minds - to win glory for their country.
Each team was named after a different country, and while many matches were closely contested, it was Ireland, England and Brazil which went on to victory in the three age groups at this year’s Mini World Cup, held at the Caragh Road Sports Grounds on Saturday.
Naas AFC chairman, Tony Griffin, said the main purpose of the day was to see kids having fun, supported by their families. “Despite the bad weather, we have all had a great day and finished on time and within budget,” he grinned.
Main organisers of the day were Carmel Walsh and Beaver Brophy. Tony Griffin paid tribute to all who had contributed to the success of the day, committee members, Catherine Bennett, Sheila King, Joan Gordon and Ian Fitzgibbon; and Edward, Brian and James in the shop.
Referees included Pat O’Brien, Quentin Roantree and Johnny Dwyer.
Sponsors were The Ivy Inn, Major de Burgh, Superquinn, James O’Reilly of Robt Roberts and Ian Fitzgibbon.
All participants received medals and tucked into ‘goodie’ bags.
©2001trishwhelan/knn