Mayor urges public to support Milk Cup in borough

The tournament kicks off this Saturday, with the Ballymena borough hosting a number of mouth-watering games, including the crowning glory of the finals night next Thursday, July 26.

The reason for the tournament beginning and ending sooner than usual is to avoid a clash with the opening of the Olympic Games on the Friday night, July 26, the traditional date for the showpiece finals night.

“It makes sense for the organisers to avoid having both events on the same night, because there will be a large number of people interested in both,” Alderman PJ McAvoy told Times Sport.

“There will be so much of interest to football fans in our borough - in the Elite Section alone, we will get to see Northern Ireland, Chile, the United States and Turkey.

“Throughout the Premier and Junior sections, we will get to see some great clubs sides in action on our doorsteps, including Liverpool, Manchester United, Newcastle, all of whom have big fan bases and they are all clubs who have big drawing power.

“We’re looking forward in the Ballymena borough to playing our part in another successful tournament.

“The Showgrounds is a spectacular venue, geared towards hosting big events such as the Milk Cup.

And we can’t forget the village of Broughshane, who are hosting a lot of matches as well and we appreciate the work that is done by the members out there in providing the pitch and the facilities.

“Hopefully it will be a big success and when we close the book on the Thursday night, hopefully everybody will be happy.

“Every year we are getting a wee bit more of the cake – when it comes to facilities, the Showgrounds can outshine anything in Northern Ireland and I think the organisers appreciate that.

“Hopefully the weather can continue along the same lines of recent weeks, after a number of weeks of what seemed like continuous rain but for all the planning the organisers put into it, the weather of course in the one thing they have no control over.”

The Mayor is hoping that his busy diary allows him to indulge in enjoying a competition that he is already very fond of, from a purely footballing point of view.

“I would always have gone to three or four matches during the week but this week I’ll be there in an official capacity so I’m looking forward to that very much.

“I’m also looking forward to the opening ceremony in Coleraine and also hosting a civic reception for the head members and officials of the teams who are based in the Ballymena in the Des Allen Suite.”

Alderman McAvoy believes that the hosting of games in Ballymena and Broughshane can also provide a welcome financial shot-in-the-arm at a time of difficult economic circumstances.

“Having the Milk Cup here is definitely an incentive for people to come into Ballymena – sure the men can come and watch the football and the women can enjoy the excellent shopping facilities we have in Ballymena.

“That way, everyone can go home happy!” smiled PJ.

* Don’t miss our two-page Milk Cup feature on pages 46-47.