The Hessle Sporting Wizards now have their sights on other international tournaments having made their debut overseas trip
The boys made it to the final of the Paris International Cup.(Image: Hessle Sporting Wizards)
The under nines boys of Hessle Sporting Wizards surpassed their England World Cup heroes by reaching the final of a major international junior tournament. Nine promising young players travelled to the French capital earlier this month to compete in the Paris International Cup in the impressive surroundings of Paris Saint-Germain’s training ground.
Battling baking temperatures amid Europe’s heatwave, the boys powered through the group stages featuring scores of teams from across Europe, and losing only two games. Having lost out only narrowly in the final, the Wizards have returned to Hull with “memories to last a lifetime”.
Players and parents had faced a nail biting wait ahead of the tournament – which was thrown into jeopardy by the extreme temperatures hitting France. Organisers were forced to make last minute changes to the programme leaving little room for rest for Hessle boys.
Sophie Thompson, a parent volunteer who helps coordinate the team, explained: “At first, we didn’t know if the tournament would go ahead because France was looking at a red weather warning. We were told that the first match on Saturday would kick-off at 6am, so the boys had to be there for 5:15am. And a lot of the boys’ flights were delayed on the Friday night so they didn’t get to bed until 2am.”
Nevertheless, the Wizards triumphed on the impressive training pitches of the PSG Campus, at Poissy on the outskirts of the city. By the time the final was played, the mercury was pushing 35°C with the boys already exhausted from their group matches.
Sophie said: “It was neck and neck, right to the end until the other team got a last minute goal. They did really, really well, bless them.”
She added: “It’s definitely given them all the buzz, and they’re talking about Barcelona next year! I think they’re keen to do another international tournament.”
A significant amount of fundraising went into making the Wizards’ first overseas trip possible with entry fees, flights and hotel costs to find. And despite the heat meaning the competition was condensed into one day, it left an additional day for the boys to squeeze in some sight-seeing, with many taking to the Eiffel Tower and other Paris landmarks via train from their digs and some even taking in nearby Disneyland.
Sophie added: “They’ve all got so much out of the experience, not just football but team bonding and strengthened friendships. That’s been really nice to see.”
With their feet back on home soil the Wizards are now gearing up for their final tournament of the season next weekend (Saturday, July 25) before a well-earned rest and some training before they take on the under 10s league in September.
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