Under-16s to play in Northern Ireland

The young Reds will travel to the north coast region of the country to face off against local club sides Coleraine, Ballymena United and Linfield between 26 July and 30 July.

Organisers of the prestigious SuperCup:NI youth tournament, formerly the Milk Cup, were delighted United could travel to play in the fixtures next month with chairman Victor Leonard commenting on the great deal of excitement following the announcement of our involvement.

‘’Manchester United are looking forward to bringing over some of their brightest stars and it will be an incredible opportunity for players from three of our local clubs to test themselves against such prestigious opposition’,’ he told the SuperCup:NI official website.

United have since had a long history of playing in Northern Ireland, most notably travelling to the famous junior football tournament, formerly known as the Milk Cup.

The Reds were first invited to take part in 1989 and was the first trophy success for some of the decorated stars of the Class of '92, who subsequently went on to win the competition just two years later in 1991.

A young David Beckham captained the Reds to glory, with Paul Scholes and Gary Neville also featuring in the same XI that very year. A restructure was then introduced back in 1995, with the tournament now consisting of three age groups, Elite (Under-19), Premier (Under-16) and Junior (Under-14).

Some of United’s finest Academy graduates have featured across the years with most recent notable mentions going to current first-teamers Marcus Rashford and Mason Greenwood.

The Wythenshawe-born forward netted four times in three separate matches back in 2014, with United winning the Elite division that year. Dean Henderson also featured alongside Rashford in the Reds’ side.

Greenwood also featured prominently, when United defeated Northern Ireland in the Elite age group final back in 2017.

FRIENDLY FIXTURES

Monday 26 July (19:00 BST): Coleraine v United U16s
Seahaven, Portstewart.

Wed 28 July (19:00 BST): Ballymena v United U16s
Ballymena Showgrounds.

Fri 30 July (19:00 BST) Linfield v United U16s
Dixon Park, Ballyclare.