Europe's seminarians seek to bend it like Beckham

BY CHRISTINA WHITE
MORE THAN 200 budding David Beckhams from seven countries will descend on the Irish Republic this weekend for the highlight of the seminaries' football calendar —
the European Seminary Soccer Tournament.
Sport enthusiasts will be torn between the clash of the rugby titans, Ireland and England, at Lansdowne Road on Sunday and the Dublin final of the tournament at St Patrick's College, Maynooth, featuring the Catholic Church's finest.
Teams will travel from Poland, Slovenia, France, Belgium, Germany and England to take part in this the 19th tournament to date. In recent years, interest in the
tournament has increased, especially from seminaries in Eastern European countries.
Two Polish teams, inspired by tales of Pope John Paul 11's youthful prowess as a goalkeeper, have already indicated they want to host next year's clash of the clerical collars.
Chris O'Donnell, captain of the Maynooth College team, said the tournament was an opportunity "to meet with others who are preparing for priesthood and to experience different cultures".
He added: "It is wonderful that Maynooth has been given the opportunity to host the tournament and welcome fellow seminarians from all over Europe."
Maynooth is the current favourite for the title, having won four of the previous tournaments.
Last year's winner was a seminary from Poland.
Details of the tournament are available on the web at http://eurofeis.tripod.com John Ryan: Page 9