Alloa Athletic’s Under-17 youth squad are heading to Europe to take on some of the best teams in the Continent after the club accepted an invitation to participate at the prestigious Festival D’Armor in May.
The young Wasps have taken one of the 10 places at a tournament in the north west of France that takes place in the small community of Ploughonvelin that nestles between Brittany and Brest with the games taking place on May 20-23.
The Recreation Park side were invited due to the hard work of Graeme Liveston who is Head of Youth Development and Scouting at the club who said: “I have known about this tournament for a long time and I have been to a good number of them. I used to work with Dundee United and we first went over in 1995 and reached the Final where we lost 3-1 to Celtic.”
“There are two tournaments for under-17 and under 14 and we will be competing in the under-17 one. With United we won it in 2003 and two players from that team Gary Kenneth and David Robertson both went on to play for Scotland at either full or under-21 level.”
The tournament was used to aid the development of other future Tannadice stars with Liveston adding: “Other players such as David Goodwillie and Jonny Russell played in it in other years but unfortunately never won it.”
There is obviously a strong French presence at the Festival D’Armor with Liveston saying: “The area that it is in attracts the best youth teams from the west of France with Rennes and Stade Brest attending. Guingamp who are in Ligue 2 just now but spent a long time in Ligue 1 are usually there as well.”
Teams from further afield are welcome with Liveston continuing: “There are always other nationalities to play against as well and this year it looks like Malaga will be there. A Brazilian side, Porte Alegre, Standard Liege from Belgium and an Italian team that has still to be announced will also be there.”
“Roma have been before as have Juventus in fact the Juventus players and officials were all over Dundee United one year in friendship.”
Liveston explained: “We had Chris Gentile in our squad who is of course related to the Italian World Cup winner Claudio Gentile. When Juventus heard that we had one of Claudio’s family in our squad they could not make a big enough fuss over him.”
“He never quite made it at United but he did play senior for Dumbarton.”
The tournament has been graced by some of the great French players that took the country to World Cup and Euro glory at the end of last millennium and start of the new one with Liveston saying: “When you consider the fantastic French teams over the past 20 years many of them played at the Festival D’Armor. In fact for many of them and for all the other players that have taken part it will have been their first taste of European football.”
“Emmanuel Petit is the patron of this year’s tournament, Christian Karembeu was last years and Stephane Guivarc’h was the patron in 2011.”
It is a great feather in Alloa’s cap to be invited with Liveston explaining: “It is not usually a tournament that part-time clubs get invited to. It is normally full time sides and quite well known ones from across Europe but we are going. I am sure my previous involvement and having a high profile first team manager in Paul Hartley certainly helps.”
“The boys will be treated as full time players for that period and winning the tournament is not the important thing, developing as players is the most important thing.”
Liveston added: “It will cost the club a lot of money to get everyone there and it is a great commitment to their future by the Board. At the moment the plan is to drive the 16 players and 4 staff to Plymouth and catch a ferry to France.”
“We have looked into flying but there are two issues that make me wary of that. One is cost and the second is that the games are being played on the Pentecost Weekend and having been there before waiting for a flight home in the past I know it is a favourite date for Air Traffic Controllers in France to go out on strike.”
Liveston, who has also worked with the Youth Department at Rangers was brought to the Clackmannanshire club in May when Chairman Mike Mulraney decided to revamp the Youth structure at the club.
Mulraney sad at the time ‘that the appointment of Graeme Liveston as Head of Youth Development and Scouting at Recreation Park was a huge coup for the club. He is well respected coach and his job will have a new profile with more hours, and he will look to enhance and build a stronger working relationship with the community club.”
The invitation to France is high profile recognition of the changes made and Liveston reckons his side will be ready to challenge their European opponents as he said: “We changed things around in the summer and are doing well in the league where we are sitting second. The standard at the Festival D’Armor is high but I know what we are going into and I am sure that we can handle it.”
“I am sure we can manage the step up. Whilst I don’t think we will be strong enough to win it, going over there and playing as well as we can, and developing as people and players, will make it worthwhile.”
Liveston added: “Our boys come in and train twice a week and one of them Andrew Ward was on the bench for the first team recently and he is aged only 15. That shows you the quality that is coming through. Scott Hynd who is a nippy wee striker is another player who is not far off from challenging for a place in Paul’s first team squad.”
“That is my job as head of Youth to deliver players to the first team manager and more of that will happen in the future.”
Liveston has a blueprint for success saying: “We want to have home grown young players in the team at Alloa. Having worked with Jim McLean at Dundee United I have seen the benefits that it can bring. Christian Dailly was given a chance at United aged 16 and he was just one of many that started their career at United and we are looking to do the same here.”
The Alloa Head of Youth is now also a fan of the IRN-BRU Second Division as he explained: “After years of really only attending SPL games I now attend all Alloa’s home games and a few away ones in the Second Division. The standard and style of play from most teams is really good and that is helped by players just making their way in the game.”
“There are very few occasions I have just seen a welly up the park to the striker. I have seen a lot better play than that.”
The President of the Festival of Armor Stéphane Corre advised: “The tournament was born in 1981 and no-one would have imagined at the time that over 30 years later this would be among the most prestigious tournaments of young people in France.”
“The Festival of Armor offers two tournaments with the ' Challenge Credit Agricole / Bertheleme ", for under-17’s and the 'Challenge landscapes d'Iroise', for under-15’s.”
Corre added: “About 250 volunteers involved in this feast of football where you see real talent, future professional stars, but also where we have fun for three days. During our time there have been teams from three continents, with more than a hundred foreign teams from the world of international football as well as French sides taking part.”
“Each year the weekend of Pentecost, there are more than 1,000 players participating in a remarkable spirit of sportsmanship, tolerance and fair play, at this great gathering. The tournament grew naturally and as well as playing football we encourage the young people, to promote exchanges between the invited clubs and host of the associated community families.”
Corre finished by saying: “Youth football tournaments are a good thing, but we want to show the players that acquiring a sense of responsibility is worth more.”
Previous winners at an Under 17 level are
Year, Winner, Final Score
- 2012 FC Istres West Provence - Stade Brestois 29 0-0 (4-3 tab)
- 2011 Stade Rennais - AJ Auxerre 3 - 1
- 2010 Stade Rennais - Royal Standard de Liège 5 0
- 2008 FC Lorient - EA Guingamp 3 0
- 2007 FC Lorient - Stade Rennais 0-0 (6-5 tab)
- 2006 Stade Rennais - Espanyol Barcelona 1 0
- 2005 Lorient - Dundee United 1 0
- 2004 Stade Rennais - Spartak Moscow 2 - 1
- 2003 Dundee United - Espanyol Barcelona 0-0 (5-4 pen)
- 2002 Stade Rennais - Galatasaray 5 0
- 2001 Standard Liege - Stade Rennais 2 0
- 2000 FC Nantes - Atletico Madrid 1 - 1
- 1999 Benfica Lisbon - FC Nantes 1 - 1
- 1998 FC Nantes - Ajax Amsterdam 1 - 1
- 1997 Espanyol Barcelona - RSC Anderlecht 2 0
- 1996 Standard Liege - Stade Rennais 1 0
- 1995 Celtic - Dundee United FC 3 - 1
- 1994 Stade Rennais - Ipswich Town 1 0
- 1993 Paris Saint-Germain 3 0
- 1992 Luton Town - Lech Poznan 1 - 1
- 1990 RSC Anderlecht -Tchequoslovaquie 2 0
- 1989 RSC Anderlecht - regional Selection 1 0
- 1988 P Paris FC - Stade Brestois 1 - 1
- 1987 Sporting Portugal - Real Sociedad 0-0
- 1986 RC Lens - Real Sociedad 2 0
- 1985 PSV Eindhoven - RSC Anderlecht 2 0
- 1984 Bristol Rovers - Plymouth Argyle 2 - 1
- 1983 RSC Anderlecht - Stade Brestois 1 0
- 1982 Selection Regional - Karlsruhe 1 0
- 1981 Stade Quimpérois - Stade Brestois 3 - 1
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