Crowds line streets to cheer on football's brightest young prospects

Thousands of people have cheered on young footballers from across the globe taking part in the opening parade of a prestigious youth football tournament in Coleraine.

The Budget Energy SuperCupNI, formerly the Milk Cup, has brought together 1,200 players from boys' and girls' teams, including clubs such as Manchester United, Liverpool, Rangers and Celtic.

Teams have travelled from countries as far away as Mexico, Japan, Norway, the USA and the United Arab Emirates to play in more than 150 fixtures in the six-day tournament.

SuperCupNI has a long history of showcasing some of football's brightest young talents, with former participants including Marcus Rashford, Sergio Busquets and Mats Hummels.

Desert Empire Surf have travelled all the way from Florida in the United States for the tournament.

Head coach Hugo Chaparro said his team, who are competing in the girls' premier section, cannot wait to get started and test themselves against some of the biggest clubs in world football.

Their opening fixture is on Monday, when they travel to Limavady to take on Liverpool, who are competing in the division for the first time.

Desert Empire Surf will then play IL Heming from Norway before facing Manchester United in Newtownabbey.

Chaparro said the experience gives young players the opportunity to test themselves against different styles of football, experience other cultures and create memories that will last a lifetime.

For players like Katina and Keira, they cannot wait to play in the tournament against some of the top players.

They said despite the tough group, they believe they can compete at the top level.

Former Northern Ireland footballer Chris Brunt officially opened the event, leading the parade through Coleraine town centre before declaring the tournament officially open at the Showgrounds, home of Northern Ireland Football League side Coleraine FC.

The former West Bromwich Albion captain, who won 65 caps for Northern Ireland, previously played in the tournament's Elite Section in 2003.

Brunt said he has fond memories of playing in the tournament.

He remembers facing a young Brazil side featuring future Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho, while playing alongside future Northern Ireland internationals Steven Davis, Michael McGovern, Dean Shiels and Sammy Clingan at Windsor Park in front of 4,000 spectators.

Brunt, who enjoyed a distinguished playing career spanning almost two decades and now works in coaching and player development at West Brom, said it was a "real honour" to open the tournament, describing the SuperCupNI as a competition every young footballer aspired to play in.

He said that throughout his career he had played with and against players from all over the world, and that whenever the tournament came up in conversation, people always spoke highly about the experience.

The tournament was the brainchild of Coleraine's Victor Leonard, local youth football administrator Jim Weir and former Northern Ireland and Celtic midfielder Bertie Peacock, who first met in December 1981 to lay the foundations for an international youth football tournament.

First staged in 1983, the competition was originally known as the Northern Ireland Cup before being renamed the Milk Cup following sponsorship from Northern Ireland's dairy industry.

Motherwell won the inaugural tournament by defeating hosts Coleraine, and the competition has grown significantly over the decades. Now known as SuperCupNI, it annually welcomes thousands of young players from around the world.

SuperCupNI typically follows the conclusion of another high-profile youth football competition, the O'Neills Foyle Cup, which held its traditional team parade in Londonderry earlier this month.

Games took place across the north west of Northern Ireland and also across the border in County Donegal in the Republic of Ireland.