What a few months it has been for 27 year old Enniskillen man Grant Molloy. Back in April he earned the opportunity to play at Wembley in the Budweiser final and having shone there he will now make the dream trip to Rio, Brazil on Wednesday to play in the Budweiser World Cup 6v6 while he will also be a guest at one of the World Cup quarter-finals.

Grant is a former Ballinamallard United player and played under current first team manager Whitey Anderson although he has lived in Manchester for the past two years and works throughout the UK and further afield as a high voltage cable worker.

And it was while working off shore that he noticed an advertisement that set the wheels in motion for this forthcoming trip to Rio.

“I saw an advertsisement on an electric hoarding looking for amateur players who are over 25 with the opportunity to go and play at Wembley, so I applied on the website and attended the first trial. There was over 1000 at trials throughout the UK and I was one of 126 who made it through that to the next trial at St. George’s Park, the home of the FA. Steve Clarke, Ray Parlour, Alex McLeish and David Ginola were on the selection committee and they narrowed down the numbers over the day until there was only the 34 left,” said Grant, who plays for Elton Vale in the Manchester Amateur League.

Those 34 players were then separated into two sides with Steve Clarke and Ray Parlour in charge of one side and Alex McLeish and David Ginola over the other.

The two sets of players enjoyed VIP treatment at Wembley courtesy of Budweiser, staying at the Hilton Hotel, before attending the Sheffield United v Hull City FA Cup semi-final on April 13 with hospitality provided by the FA. The following day Grant played in the Budweiser final which was televised by BT Sport.

“We received the full professional experience. We were put up at the Hilton Hotel and we were taken by coach to Wembley and went in the same entrance that you see the players going in. Everything about it was first class and we received everything, and more, that a professional player would get. To have had the opportunity to play at Wembley was brilliant,” he said.

Grant’s journey though does not end there. The Fermanagh man was one of the players to really catch the eye during the Wembley game and this has seen him selected along with seven others to represent the UK at the Bud World Cup.

The defender and his UK team-mates will travel to Brazil and will come up against two Brazilian sides as well as sides from Ukraine, Argentina, Columbia, Chile and Guatamala and it is a trip that he is thoroughly looking forward to.

“To get the opportunity to play at Wembley was one thing, but to get picked for this is something else, it is unreal. To be honest, it hasn’t yet fully sunk in and it probably won’t until I’m sitting on the plane next week. I gave everything I could on the day at Wembley and I’m just thrilled to be one of the eight. It has been a rollercoaster so far,” commented Grant.

And while Messi and co are setting the World Cup alight, a man from Fermanagh is also hoping to make his mark.

“This has certainly opened doors for some of the lads. Three of the eight players have already been offered professional trial opportunities when they get back and I would love to have that opportunity. Hopefully, Rio won’t be the end of the journey,” he concluded.