Ackworth Juniors U11s football team come home victorious after winning Belgium Cup over Easter weekend

The Ackworth Juniors U11s football team returned victorious from the tournament, which took place last weekend.

Coach Luke Devine said: “I couldn’t be more proud of our boys; how they handled themselves and how they represented Ackworth and the club – it was fantastic.

"They’ve had the trip of a lifetime and I’m so glad we could be a part of that.”

On the first day of the tournament, the boys played Danish team Boldklubben Skjold, Belgian team Zonhoven United and French team SR Hoenheim, who they beat with a 12-1 victory to finish top of their group.

On day two, the team battled adverse weather conditions to beat Boldklubben Skjold again, with a 2-0 victory.

The two-day Easter weekend tournament was hosted at KFC Helson, Helchteren, and was the team’s first trip abroad.

Since its inception in 2000, the Belgium Cup has been a popular tournament for international youth football, and this year saw 150 teams from six countries compete for the silverware.

In January, the team carried out litter-picking along a 10 kilometre route in order to raise money to cover some of the costs of the trip, and would like to thank those who supported them.

The team will next compete at the prestigious, invitation-only ACES Tournament, which will take place in Nottingham in June.

More than 15,000 players, managers and spectators are expected to attend over the four weekends the tournament is held.