VOLUNTEERS are wanted for the Tynwald Hill International Football Tournament.
St John’s and Mullen-e-Cloie will host the games at the start of July when the first tournament will take place.
Volunteers are needed to help run the competition, these include; visiting team concierge (five hours in total); clubhouse and VIP security; crowd, corporate, parking and entrance stewards; ticket officers; ground and facility cleaners.
Overseas’ teams Occitania, Raetia, Alderney, Sealand and Tamil Eelam will be taking part.
The group matches will be played over the start of bank holiday weekend on July 4,5 and 6, with the play-off matches and finals takning place on Sunday July 7.
Malcolm Blackburn, development manager, said: ‘As a club St John’s is both honoured and extremely pleased that this International Tournament is being hosted at Mullen e Cloie and the fact that it is being held over the Manx National Day is quite poignant when considering the history of some of the competing teams.
‘It is felt that as two matches are being held on Tynwald Day with kick off times set to avoid the ceremony it will provide another attraction in St John’s where the Manx public converge and should produce a great atmosphere at the matches for our visiting teams.’
The tournament’s line-up is mainly of sides that are members of the Non-FIFA Board, an association that represents nations, dependencies, unrecognisable states, minorities, stateless people, regions and micronations not affiliated to FIFA.
Mr Blackburn added that as the event will be covered on a world stage ‘it is extremely important that the tournament is a success which can be only achieved by involving the public’.
He said: ‘On many occasions the Manx public has demonstrated that it can host large events such as the Commonwealth Youth Games, Island Games and every time the island has come out of it with tremendous credit and a level of professionalism that is the envy of many away from our shores.
‘St John’s United AFC relies totally on volunteers to participate in Manx Football, but it is obvious that to host a football tournament such as this it needs more individuals and is sure the experience will be extremely rewarding not just from the point of assisting on the tournament dates but from the intrigue value of the participating teams with some of their countries not even being recognised.’
If you are interested in volunteering email admin@tynwaldtournament.com
