The involvement of Ballincollig Community School in the annual Eurofoot Soccer competition dates back to its beginnings in 1990. At that time the local people in the small French village of Vigneux De Bretagne came up with the idea of holding an annual soccer tournament for a selection of French teams and one team from each EU country. Their intention was to bring young people from around Europe together through sport. One of the organisers made contact with one of the French teachers in our school and so it was that, by chance, the involvement of Ballincollig Community School began in a venture that has been the highlight of their time in school for many of the boys who have participated. The team is coached each year by the Physical Education teacher, and to date 224 pupils have made the trip to France over the 14 years that Ballincollig Community School has been involved.

The boys are hosted by local French families for the weekend and the families always speak highly of the friendship and good humour of the Irish boys. Such has been the friendship that has grown between the people of Vigneux and ourselves that the mayor of Vigneux made a presentation of the medal of the village to our school this year as we are the only team who have participated in every tournament since its beginning. We even made the local and regional newspapers this year as a result of this.

Though our students always win many admirers for their attitude and their skill and application on the pitch, they fully realise that winning the tournament is not a realistic possibility when competing against the youths teams of FC Nantes, Wolverhampton Schools and Madrid for example. Our students enjoy the whole experience of participating and competing against the future Beckhams, Zidanes and Rauls of European football. The pupils in the original competitions were drawn from 2nd year in the school but in recent years the tournament has involved mainly 4th years as the organisers have raised the age limit. The whole tournament is run with an emphasis on enjoyment and fair play - so much so that one of the most prestigious trophies presented during the prize giving is for the team that best exemplifies these qualities.

We have been fortunate enough to win that on two occasions. We have finished as low as 32nd on one occasion in the tournament and as high as 9th among the 32 teams that participate. The over-riding memory for our pupils is not where we finish, however, but the friendships that are forged each year and the overall experience of participating in a tournament that has grown from small beginnings to become a significant date in the calendar of many top quality European soccer teams.

Our pupils are already anticipating Eurofoot 2004.

Vive l'Eurofoot!!