Organisers of this year’s Sligo Super Cup have decided to postpone this year’s tournament.
The elite soccer competition for under 12 teams had attracted entries this year from English Premier League clubs Newcastle United and Southampton. It was due to take place from April 24th to the 26th at the Showgrounds, but organisers have decided to postpone the competition in light of the current coronavirus outbreak.
This decision has been taken in the interest of protecting public health and in recognition of the duty of care to participants, volunteers, service providers and visiting spectators.
The Committee will continue to engage with all teams, stakeholders and public health bodies to explore the possibility of staging the tournament later this year. If this is not feasible there will be no alternative but to cancel the 2020 tournament.
Tournament Director Packie Lynch explains:
“Our decision to postpone Sligo Super Cup 2020 has not been taken lightly. We have weighed the matter with meticulous attention to HSE guidelines, to our own observations of the ever-evolving issues around the COVID-19 outbreak, and with a sense of duty to the young teams visiting Sligo, to our own volunteers and to the members of the public who would have attended our games over the three days of the tournament.
“We are particularly conscious of the concerns of parents of pre-teen children travelling from their home environments in Northern Ireland, England and Scotland, where Covid-19 is currently spreading, to our country where COVID-19 virus has also taken a significant hold.
“We felt it would be grossly unfair, if not irresponsible, to place such a burden on parents and, indeed, on the academies concerned.
“Having invested a huge amount of time and effort into organizing this year’s tournament and looking forward to welcoming our first ever English Premier League participants, we are naturally extremely disappointed that the competition has been postponed. But we are nonetheless convinced that given the extraordinarily difficult circumstances now facing our country, we have arrived at the correct decision.”
Flashback
Donegal win 2019 Sligo Super Cup
