The Isle of Man Football Association’s under-11s boys squad will be competing in the Holland Cup over the forthcoming Easter weekend.

The Holland Cup, which is in its 31st season, is taking place in Almere a small town just outside Amsterdam.

Teams travel from across Europe to compete at a range of age levels.

The competition in the past has welcomed more than 200 teams from 12 different countries.

The Isle of Man have been drawn in groups with teams from Holland, Denmark, France, Belgium and England, all of which will provide unique and memorable competitive experiences for the Centre of Excellence squad.

The coaching team of Juan Kinvig and Mark Watterson are both very pleased with the progress made by the group.

Kinvig explained: ’We are going into an international tournament with an enormous sense of excitement and confidence.

’The boys have equipped themselves superbly in training over the course of the last few months and are hopefully ready to put the Isle of Man on the map in terms of their attitudes and ability.’

Watterson, who has been instrumental in the organisation of the trip, added: ’We wanted to give the boys the best chance and opportunity to experience something a bit different.

’The Holland Cup is probably the largest youth football tournament in Europe and it just felt right for this particular group of boys, who have been a credit to themselves and the Centre since they were selected back in September.’

The Isle of Man Football Association would like to thank the generosity of Tesco and Shoprite in allowing space to fundraise, and also for the kind sponsorship received from EPL Recruitment.

A particular special thank you, however, must be given to the main sponsor Paysafe for their very kind donation towards the trip.