DUBLIN Airport Football Club will host the 18th European Airports Football Championship this summer in north Dublin.
Football teams from major European airports, along with three from Russia, will compete in the biennial tournament to become champions of Europe.
The tournament, now in its 34th year of existence, started in Dublin in 1984 with the aim of fostering friendship through sport.
The tournament has grown steadily over the years and this year Dublin Airport will play host to 20 teams from nine different countries.
The festival of football will take place at the ALSAA Sports Complex, Dublin Airport, from Friday, June 15 to Sunday, June 17.
This year, the championship will also support the Dublin Airport staff charities which include the Irish Motor Neurone Disease Association (IMNDA), Snowflakes Autism Support and the LauraLynn Children’s Hospice through fundraising initiatives over the weekend including a fun day.
The 2018 tournament has received the full backing of John Delaney and the FAI.
During the recent launch of the tournament, John Delaney, chief executive of the FAI, said: “The European Airports Football Championship represents an incredible opportunity to see a truly international event hosted on home soil.
“On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland we fully support this footballing initiative.
“I would like to take this opportunity to wish the Dublin Airport Football Club the very best for the forthcoming tournament in June.”
The tournament is returning to Dublin for the third time this summer after visiting 15 other host cities.
Dublin Airport has previously won the tournament on three separate occasions including the inaugural event in 1984 and again in ‘92 and ‘96. The current champions, Moscow’s Domodedovo Airport, were crowned winners of the Don Treacy European Cup in Vienna in 2016.
Republic of Ireland Under 21 manager, Noel King, and League of Ireland legend, Joey Malone, also attended the launch.
The tournament was originally set up to build relationships across Airports Council International Europe through sport.