16 June 2013

 

VMFC's long wait for an international trophy came to an end on June 15th when they won the IGLFA European Cup in Dublin.

 

The inaugural European Cup tournament was held in Manchester in 2011 but the host team suffered a heart-breaking defeat in the final, losing on penalties to the ever-dominant Stonewall FC. This time there was sweet revenge as Village beat the London team 1-0 in a tense semi-final.

 

The final was played against Dublin Devils and, although there was lots of support for the home team, Village ran out 2-1 winners to claim their first international cup in the team's 17 year history.

 

Jason McAuley, the club manager, "We've been waiting a long time for this triumph. Having experienced the pain of defeat in three previous finals it makes it all the sweeter, especially defeating Stonewall who have set the bar in gay football for such a long time.

 

"All of the boys deserve a lot of credit for the effort they put in. Playing four games of football in 32 hours is extremely demanding but the determination and discipline they showed was outstanding."

 

The football club has grown from strength to strength in recent years and now has over 40 players making up two teams who feature in local Sunday leagues during the domestic season. Although originally an exclusively-gay team, VMFC now includes several straight players as the club continues to promote inclusivity in football at the grass-roots level.

 

 

Well done boys!