Unique chance for England Colleges players to take on Europe’s best in international tournament

England Colleges players will have the unique opportunity to take on national youth teams from across Europe in an annual football tournament in Rome next week. The women’s squad will once again play in the Il Calcio E Rosa tournament after competing for the first time last year and winning the tournament. Meanwhile the men will compete in the Roma Caput Mundi tournament. Both sets of players and staff are flying out to Italy on Sunday to compete in the five-day international tournament. Three group game matches will be played ahead of a potential final next Friday. On the rest day, Wednesday, 19 February, the squads will go to the Italian National Olympic Committee Hall of Honour, in order to participate in the welcome ceremony in the presence of national sports authorities and diplomats. After that there will be a visit to the historic Olympic Stadium followed by free time around Rome. Alice Kempski, AoC Sport National Football Development Manager, said: “The tournaments in Rome are fantastic development opportunities for our players and staff in the England College national team programmes. “We were delighted to receive an invitation for our women’s team to join the tournament again after participating in it for the first time last year, and we are looking forward to seeing if we can retain the trophy against new international opposition who will be participating in the tournament for the first time this year. “For our teams to have the opportunity to compete with national youth teams from across Europe is really special. We are really proud of the programme and this is all possible because of our volunteer staff who provide a really unique and high-quality experience for players to develop themselves as players and as people. “I would therefore like to extend my personal thanks to our excellent England Colleges staff team and our partners Future Elite Sport, Catapult, and UCFB who make this programme possible. I wish the players the best of luck for the tournament and beyond!” Team’s competing in the women’s tournament include Abruzzo, Grifone Gialloverde, Moldova, Bolzano, Kosovo, C.R. Lazio and Wales Colleges (Welsh Colleges FA) [table id=58 /] English Colleges Women’s Team fixtures:

• Monday, 17 February : ECFA vs Grifone Gialloverde
• Tuesday, 18 February : Abruzzo vs ECFA
• Thursday, 20 February : Moldova vs ECFA
• The final match of the tournament will be played on Friday, 21 February.

The team’s competing in the men’s tournament are: Italian National Amateur League (Italy/LND), Moldova, Wales Colleges (Welsh Colleges FA), Frosinone Calcio, Greece (EPS Pellas), Kosovo and C.R. Lazio English Colleges Men’s Team fixtures:

• Monday, 17 February: Italy/LND vs ECFA
• Tuesday, 18 February: Moldova vs ECFA
• Thursday, 20 February: England vs Wales Colleges
• The final match of the tournament will be played Friday, 21 February

**For updates on the team and for all ECFA news, please follow @ECFA12 on Twitter** For more information on the England Colleges programme click here.