Tipperary men called up to Ireland squad for Defence Forces European Championship
Dale Loughnane and Stephen Kelly travelled to the Netherlands with the squad this week
Two Tipperary players have been called up to the Republic of Ireland squad for the CISM European Championships taking place in the Netherlands this week.
Dale Loughnane from Peake Villa FC and Stephen Kelly from Clonmel Town FC have been called up to play with the Ireland squad in their games in Veldhoven.
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Their first game took place versus Armenia on Monday morning, March 23, which saw the Boys in Green take home three points following a 1-0 victory.
Their second game kicked off on Tuesday, March 24, against Germany, which saw the game end scoreless.
Rounding out their group fixtures is their clash on Thursday against Spain.
Richie Barber’s team are hoping to do enough to reach the 2027 CISM Military World Games, which involves over 10,000 athletes across 40 different sports, that takes place in North Carolina, United States in June 2027.
In order to advance to their fourth World Games, Ireland need to make it out of Group B.
If Ireland finish either first or second in their group, they then need to win their play-off game on Friday, March 27, where their opponent will come from Group A, which consists of Cyprus, France, Luxembourg and Netherlands.
The Ireland squad had two games at the tail-end of 2025, losing narrowly to France and drawing with the UK Armed Forces, and have played five times already this year, including a run-out against SSE Airtricity Men’s Premier Division side Bohemians.
In September, Ireland will compete in the Kentish Cup in France for the first time.
A historic competition that was established after World War I, they will play against France, Netherlands and the UK.
Before then though, Ireland will compete in the European Championship fixtures knowing that a place in the World Games can be achieved.
They have twice reached the Quarter-Finals of the World Games, in 2007 and 2019, while also competing in 2017.
Now it’s all about trying to get back there for a fourth time.