Day 1
An excellent first day for the tour group as a tired but enthusiastic CUFC tour squad visited Stamford Bridge for the opening game of the 2016/16 EPL season. An excellent game saw Chelsea tie 2-2 with Swansea in a match which was great for the boys to see and was a typical exciting Premier League encounter!! Tomorrow a tour of London is on the cards for the group.
Day 2
The second day of the tour was all about London and taking in all the great sights that the City has to offer. Buckingham Palace and St.Paul’s Cathedral were just a couple of the main sights that the group visited along with a little stop to buy some football gear at the famous Lillywhites store. The day was perfectly completed for some with a trip to a good old London pub to watch Liverpool win their opening game of the season.
Day 3
What an incredible day the boys had on day 3. The tour headed of to the coast and visited one of the most highly respected and progressive academy programs in the country, at Southampton FC. The boys and parents were treated to an incredible day out. The boys got trained by the top Southampton FC Academy coaches and then played games against a local team and the BU13 Southampton FC Academy team. Fantastic lessons were learnt by our coaches and players in what it takes to play at the highest level, and it was a day that all involved will always remember!
Day 4
TRAVEL DAY – London to Chester
Day 5
Today, the boys started of with a training session coached by Chester Academy and Manchester United Youth coaches. Although the boys were a little tight to start with, two excellent energetic sessions got the best out of the group and they certainly left the coaches with good impressions of Carlsbad United players. From there, the group travelled into Manchester to take a tour of Old Trafford and visit the Official National Football Museum. Another terrific day for everybody on the tour.
Day 6
Today the group had a chance to have a little relaxing sleep in and then headed off to the town of Conway in North Wales to check out the Castle. The group had a lovely couple of hours walking around the town, getting fish and chips, and sitting down down on the sea front to take in the views. From there, the group headed to another part of Wales, Oswestry, to play a couple of games against TNS, the Welsh League Champions. The boys had a fantastic experience that they will never forget in a wonderful location and facility!
Day 7
Without doubt the best day so far on the tour! A superb training session with a Liverpool Academy coach in the morning was followed by a fantastic tour of Anfield. From there, the boys travelled across the way to Warrington (CUFC Coach Steve Cowell’s home town) to play two local teams at a club that is run by Steve’s Dad, Peter Cowell. Two excellent games were played with our CUFC boys finishing as winners in both games. One of the highlights of the trip for many was seeing the two sets of player mixing together at the end of the game in the local club house. The hospitality was amazing and very touching.
Day 8
The last day of the tour kicked off with a guided walk around Liverpool City center with the help of Coach Glenn’s in law Eve Bundred. The group started at the Albert Dock, checked out the Liver buildings and then moved on to the Cavern Club (where the Beatles started their careers). The boys had a great time experiencing a live band but the highlight was definitely Coach Gwynn getting on stage to sing a duet and then having a jig with one of the parents. Laughs all rounds and fun times for all! From there, the group travelled to Blackpool to watch Blackpool FC and experience a good old Northern town. Highlights were the donkey rides, a view of Blackpool tower, and a walk on the beach.
Coach Glenn commented, “What a fantastic tour it has been for everybody. Everyone will return to San Diego with many great memories that they will cherish for a long, long time!”
