Football

Late applications for the men's football event by the Cayman Islands and Froya & Hitra have been rejected.
The islands concerned contacted football co-ordinator, Peter Kelly, to investigate the possibility of a late entry but since the group draw for the
competition had already been made their request was declined.


The NatWest Island Games will bring to the Isle of Man the largest International Football competition ever to be held here.

We look forward to welcoming all the participating Islands; with Ladies taking part in a competition for the first time in the Island Games.
All matches will be played on grass pitches and teams will play in groups according to the number of entries, with the play offs for final placings being held on the last two days.

We hope that every team will have at least one free day and may wish to take the opportunity to do some sightseeing around the Isle of Man.

The draw for the Men's & Ladies Football Competitions for the IXth NatWest Island Games 2001 took place on Saturday 10th February 2001 at the IOM F.A. Headquarters, Douglas.

The draw was made by Brian Partington, Chairman of the Games Organising Committee, Tony Jones, President of the IOM F.A. and Kay Batty, I.G.A. General Secretary.

The draws were as follows:

Men's

Group 1: Ynys Mon, Saaremaa, Shetland
Group 2: Jersey, Gibraltar, Orkney
Group 3: IOW, Greenland, Rhodes
Group 4: IOM, Guernsey, Falklands

Winners G1 v G2. G3 v G4

Ladies

Group 1: IOW, Gotland, Jersey, Aland, Guernsey
Group 2: Faroes, IOM, Ynys Mon, Cayman

Exact format of the Ladies competition will be decided following consultation with each participating Island.

A total of 18 islands are fielding football teams, with 15 men's and 10 women's sides currently entered in the Games.

Gotland, hosts in 1999 when they were knocked out in the quarter-final stage by the Isle of Man, and the Faroe Islands have both confirmed that they will not be sending men's teams to the competition. However, they will be contesting the medals in the women's event.

Each island is permitted to bring a squad of 20 players for both the men's and women's competitions but only 18 players can be involved per match. Team managers may name seven substitutes for each game but only three may be used.

With almost 500 competitors involved in football alone, transport is a major consideration and therefore, owing to restraints, the majority of football action in the Games will take place after 5pm in the evening.

Competition week, July 7-14, falls within the Isle of Man schools' term time and consequently much of the Island's public transport will be in use during the day.

WOMEN'S football is set to be included in the NatWest Island Games for the first time in 2001 as part of what is set to be the largest international soccer competition ever to be held on the Isle of Man.

There are currently 10 teams entered in the women's event which will be played on grass.
The Island held its first ever women's football cup final on March 10 when a close match between Douglas Royal and Rushen was decided 2-1 in the Douglas team's favour after sudden death penalties.
The women's league has started already and after nearly 12 months of football action, the Manx players should perform well in the NatWest Island Games competition.

A TOTALof 13 men's teams are set to participate in the tournament but surprisingly, Gotland is not among the entries. The hosts of the event in 1999, who were knocked out in the quarter-final stage of the competition that year by the Manx side, have chosen not to send a squad to the Isle of Man.
Hopefully, final day, Friday 13th July, will prove to be lucky for the Island's teams as they look to go one better than their performance in Gotland where they were awarded silver medal after losing 0 -1 to Ynys Mnn ( Anglesey ) in the final.

The top four teams from the tournament in 1999 ( Ynys Mon, Isle of Man, Isle of Wight, Jersey ) will be seeded in next year's event which will begin with a group stage, the winners of which will progress to a knockout competition. There will also be play-off matches to determine each of the final placings.

Matches in the men's competition are to be played on pitches in Ramsey, Peel, Castletown, Port Erin and Douglas, with finals to be held at the Bowl. With each competing nation allowed to send a squad of 20 for either of the two events, football alone accounts for over 500 of the expected 2,500 Games' participants.

Peter Kelly, football co-ordinator for the Games, is currently looking for volunteers to welcome visiting teams at the various venues. Anyone who could spare some time during the competition week next summer should contact Peter at home on 878553.
Owing to the number of teams from the Scandinavian region, Swedish speakers would be particularly appreciated!!