Ballinamallard will send three teams to next week’s Foyle Cup, one of the top youth tournaments in the province. The Premier League side will be the only Fermanagh representatives at the tournament, with the club entering squads in the under 10s, under 11s and under 12s.

It is a tournament that has provided success for the club in the past with two of the teams topping their groups in the competitions opening stages last season, but a team from Ballinamallard has yet to claim the overall title in a competition that attracts entries from many of Northern Ireland’s top clubs.

This year’s Under 12 side will be looking to improve on a promising campaign last season. They cruised through the group stages with three wins out of three, scoring 12 goals and conceding just two. They started the knockout stages in similarly emphatic style defeating Sion Swifts 4-0, but bowed out at the quarter final stage when they lost on penalties to Derry Colts after drawing 2-2. This year the under 12s will take on Oxford, Roe Valley and the Cavan/Monaghan Youth League in the group stages.

The current under 11 team produced last season’s best result for the club, finishing fourth overall. They topped their group after recording two wins and a draw. Victory in the knockout stages over Quigley Point Swifts and a penalty shoot-out success over Glentoran Colts took them into the semi-finals, where they were defeated by Letterkenny Rovers. The draw for this year’s group stages has pitted them against two fellow Premier League teams in Glentoran and Coleraine, as well as Ballymoor and Inishowen Colts.

The Under 10 section is the largest age group in the tournament, with Ballinamallard’s youngsters making their competition debut alongside 47 other teams. The Foyle Cup will be the highest profile competition they have ever played, but they have had some good wins in their pre-tournament friendlies as well as winning the Craigavon Shield earlier in the year, and will be looking to perform well in a group packed with Derry and Donegal teams.