THE 37th edition of the Austin Stacks / Lee Strand Invitational Football Tournament will take place this Saturday at Austin Stacks club grounds in Connolly Park, Tralee.

There are 12 teams taking part providing a feast of football in the Under 14 tournament. They are Austin Stacks, Kerins O’Rahillys, John Mitchels, Na Gaeil, Ballymac, An Ghaeltacht, Churchill, Oranmore/Maree, Salthill/Knocknacarra, Nemo Rangers, Na Piarsaigh and Clontarf.

The matches will be played on the Main Pitch and on the Nuns Field, with group games commencing at 10.30am. Teams will compete for the Billy Breen Memorial Shield Final, the Abie Allen Plate and Denis O’ Connor / Lee Strand Cup.

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This popular event, which is an important landmark in the club calendar, started out in 1986 as a 4-team competition for Under 13 football.

The tournament attracted widespread interest and soon expanded to eight teams. Then, in 2001, the tournament widened further to 16 teams and the Billy Breen Memorial Shield and Abie Allen Plate Competitions were added to the Lee Strand Cup Competition.

In re-launching the tournament in 2022, the Tournament Committee decided to change the competition to U14 and to proceed with a 12-team format.

Austin Stacks would like to thank Lee Strand for their continued support over the last 38 years.

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