McKinstry leads team to Milk Cup

McKinstry, who is Sierra Leone’s national coach, will bring players from the CBF Academy to the prestigious tournament.

Craig Bellamy recalls receiving an award from Sir Alex Ferguson when he played for Wales as a teenager at the Dale Farm Milk Cup.

The magic of the occasion at Coleraine Showgrounds is an experience he wants to offer underprivileged footballers from Africa.

Cardiff City striker Bellamy reckons the international youth tournament in McKinstry’s home country will help develop some of the best young footballers from their Academy in the west African country.

Bellamy’s visit to a friend in Sierra Leone in 2007 sparked an intense desire to help the young people of the country.

He says: “The poverty I saw made a huge impact on me. But not the poverty in isolation. It was more the fact that the people who were living in all that poverty were so positive.

“I made up my mind straight away that I wanted to give something back.

“I thought about building a school or an orphanage but in the end, I settled on a football academy.”

McKinstry says the boys are excited about coming to Northern Ireland: “Facilitating our boys to play against some of the best young players in the world is not only an important part of their own development as elite players, but is important in the development of the CBF academy and elite player development in Sierra Leone as a whole.

“For most of our boys this will be their first trip outside Africa and an amazing chance to represent their country in one of the world’s most exciting youth football tournaments.”

The CBF Academy, their partners, staff and volunteers are currently involved in a range of fundraising activities in support of their attendance at the tournament.

The CBF will debut at the Dale Farm Milk Cup in the Premier competition.

The Draw for Dale Farm Milk Cup 2014 will take place towards the end of May.