One of the UK’s leading gay and inclusive football teams, Village Manchester is set to play at England’s new state of the art facility St George’s Park for a cup final.
They will be going head-to-head against the London Romans on Saturday May 31 in the GFSN Cup Final at the FA’s £105million training complex in Burton-Upon-Trent.
The club, who train in Salford, has players from throughout the Greater Manchester area and will be aiming to win the trophy for only the second time in their 18-year history.
And the team are looking forward to be playing at such a prestigious venue.
“As you can imagine, the club is very excited about the cup final and the players are itching to get out onto the excellent playing surface that will await us at St George’s Park,” said team captain Rob McPherson.
“Players such as Wayne Rooney, Joe Hart and James Milner have graced the facilities there and it will be great to follow in their footsteps.”
The GFSN (Gay Football Supporters’ Network) Cup involves 20 gay men’s teams from England, Scotland and Wales.
Village Manchester have beaten teams from Brighton, Newcastle, Leicester and Edinburgh to reach the final.
The English Football Association’s national football centre is the training base for all of the England national football teams and all coaching and development work undertaken by the FA takes place there.
The match will kick-off at 4.30pm on an elite indoor 3G pitch – which comes complete with a 200 seater viewing gallery – which will provide an excellent atmosphere for both teams.
“We are taking a coach load of players and fans down for the final and I am sure they will be making a lot of noise to roar us on to victory,” added Rob.
Village Manchester was formed in 1996, with the aim to prove a point against a common view that a gay team could not compete in a predominantly straight league.
The first team plays in the Manchester Accountants League and last year became International Gay & Lesbian Football Association champions, while the second team plays in the Manchester City Central League.
Both teams regularly participate in competitions, play in local and national leagues as well take trips abroad to compete.
Village Manchester train at 7.45 on Thursdays at Albert Park and welcomes any who enjoys playing football to come along. For more info, click here
Image courtesy of Village Manchester, via Facebook, with thanks
