A trip to the Super Cup — formerly known as the Milk Cup — is back on for 18 of the best young male players in the southern region.
Nearly 50 boys have been trialling under the auspices of the Football Otago Youth Development Trust.
A final trial at the Logan Park turf on Sunday will help coaches Andy Duncan and Tim Horner whittle the numbers down to 22, before a final cut to 18 for the July tournament in Coleraine, Northern Ireland.
An Otago team had not attended the tournament, arguably the most famous junior football event in the world, since 2018, trustee and former coach Neil McKenzie said.
"When you speak to the players who have been — and we’re up around 200 now — every one of them says it’s the best life and football experience that they’ve ever had."
A march through the city of Coleraine before the tournament was always a highlight, he said.
"Ten thousand people line the streets for 4km or 5km. The boys are just blown away. People are cheering us, and there are pipe bands and drums and all sorts.
"Then we go into the stadium and there are another 7000 or 8000 waiting for us.
"We get announced in, and our lads do ‘Ka Mate’ in front of the main stand, and there’s normally an uproar when we do that. The place goes nuts.
"They really welcome us with open arms. The hospitality is first-rate."
The Super Cup started as the Northern Ireland Youth Soccer Tournament in 1983 before having a long stretch as the Milk Cup.
It features an elite grade for under-19 teams and a premier grade for under-16 teams — Otago are at this level — and now has girls football and lower age groups.
One of the appeals of the invite-only tournament is the chance to encounter some of the world’s glamour clubs.
Otago have previously played against youth teams from the likes of Manchester United, Tottenham, Porto, Real Sociedad and Bayern Munich.
A team under the Soccer Otago Youth Development banner first attended the Milk Cup in 2003, following earlier trips to the United Kingdom, South America and Vanuatu.
Otago went back every year until 2010, had a year off, and went back for eight consecutive years under the new trust name.
McKenzie said this year’s triallists included six boys from the South Canterbury federation, eight from Southland and four from Wanaka, and the rest were from Dunedin clubs.
Travel costs had risen in the modern climate, and he and fellow trustees Richard Johnston, Matt Scoles and John Cornelissen, along with the boys and their families, needed to get stuck in to prepare for the tournament.
The boys selected would get a detailed training programme to ensure they were in top-notch shape for the trip.
