On Saturday (November 4th) Barcelona Gaels will host the finals day of this years European Football championship. Over 300 players, men and women, representing clubs from all over ´County Europe´ (its official status!!) will descend on the Catalan Capital to fight it out for the honours in three separate competitions, - Mens and Ladies championships and a Mens Shield competition. Due to the growth in clubs the old unitary league was reorganised this year creating four distinct regions North, East, Central and Iberia who have all completed their own regional competitions before playing in a four round European championship in Munich, Paris, The Hague and Barcelona. It has been a highly successful year of transition and it was greeted by increased support from the Ladies Football Association and GAA HQ who will have a full delegation in attendance headed up by Overseas Committee Chairman, Sheamus Howlin and the Leinster Council's, John Byrne. The Irish Embassy will be represented by Ambassador Peter Gunning and they will be joined by local dignatories and celebrities including FC Barcelona Handball legend Xavi O´Callaghan who will be getting things going by throwing in the first ball. The weekend begins with an official dinner on Friday evening hosted by the President of the GAA, Nickey Brennan, who unfortunately has to return to Ireland on Saturday for the International Rules test with Australia. Gaelic football is a multi skilled game of speed, strength and most of all passion. If the tournaments leading to November 4th are anything to judge by we are in for a feast of high level, fast paced competitive football as the best in their divisions will have to dig very deep to come out on top. A unique opportunity for Barcelona sports lovers who have never witnessed the game to see it up close and personal. You can expect that both of Barcelona´s official GAA bars will be rocking over the weekend. Scobies on Ronda Universitat is synonomous with televised sport in the city and a new bar virtually on the same block at Placa Urquinaona, the George Payne has also chosen to support GAA at the heart of its agenda. Irish owned and Irish run they will form an ¨axis of craic¨ for the weekend. A presentation meal is planned for 10pm on the Saturday night in The George Payne Irish Pub which is now reputedly the biggest Irish bar on continental Europe, after which everyone is invited to join in what is promised to be the biggest Irish party the city has ever seen. All 1000m2 of it will be rocking!!! These are exciting times in Gaelic Games on continental Europe. There has been astonishing growth over the last number of years with new clubs sprouting up all across the continent. From Copenhagen in the north, Rennes in the West, Budapest in the East and Marbella in the south, even the islands of Jersey and Guernsey are all part of this ever increasingly competitive sporting region. Increased interest in Gaelic Games, the twinning of Europe with the Leinster Council in Ireland and the sponsorship of the European Football and Hurling Championships by Gaelic Gear have all played a part in the rapid expansion of the GAA in Europe. The underlying reason for this expansion is the attractiveness and the growing awareness of the excitement of playing and been part of these great sports. Across Europe there are non-Irish players in every club and hosts Barcelona Gaels are a great example of this with a playing staff and committee that is 50% Catalan and the rest multinational. In a world of Abromovichs and Galacticos, Gaelic games shine like a beacon for the principles of amateur sport. This has come under pressure in recent times but it is still the case that these games are built on players giving everything for the love of the sport and will put their bodies on the line to compete for honours alone. Referees for the weekend are Shane Farrell (Dublin); Noel Kneel (Louth) arranged by Comhairle Laighean, Jerome Henry (a Mayo native currently refereeing in Galway, who is a member of the Zurich club) and Peter Daly (Westmeath) who will officiate in the Ladies Championship courtesy of the Ladies Football Association. Further information from: Tony Bass (European Secretary +31 64 660 6000) Note for Editors: Teams competing in the finals are: Men's Championship Ladies Championship Men's Shield The Hague Holland Maastricht Paris Paris Amsterdam Luxembourg Maastricht Jersey Madrid Barcelona Barcelona Costa Gaels (Marbella) Madrid Luxembourg Munich Games commence in three separate venues across the city of Barcelona at 09:00 with the finals (played under floodlights) scheduled for 17:00 (Shield) 18:00 (Ladies) & 19:00 (Mens Chp). Tweet

Most Read Stories