Preston North End have strengthened their links across the Irish Sea by launching more soccer schools in Ireland.
The Club's youth development department have already forged strong links in Northern Ireland in recent years and are currently seeing the fruits of that success with a strong Irish contingent in the youth team. Now the youth department are switching their focus south of the border and are hoping to see more and more Irish footballers in Preston colours.
Preston's youth development officer Darren Finch was part of an initial delegation that visited the Republic of Ireland in October and his team of coaches are back across the water this weekend to begin what is hoped to be the first of many soccer schools when they visit Buncrana Hearts.
Speaking to pne.com Finch said: "Last year we went into Northern Ireland and we have got good links with several clubs over there and we thought that this was a chance for a connection south of the border.
"In October myself, Dean Ramsdale (Director of Youth) and John Barrow (Chief Ireland Scout) travelled to Cork and had a few meetings with clubs over there, we seemed very responsive and want to do things with us later in the year. John also mentioned about going to the Donegal area, so John, Dean and Jim McCluskie travelled over there two weeks ago and got in touch with a club called Buncrana Hearts, they liked what we were doing and wanted to do a soccer school straightaway as opposed to in the summer.
"This will be the first soccer school that the club have run in Southern Ireland, it will be interesting because there will be over 100 children attending it and it won't just be a soccer school, we are also looking for players.
"There are one or two who have already caught the eye, it's two-pronged approach, we are looking for players but we are also looking at extending the Preston North End brand.
"There are not many clubs who go to that side of the Republic, the FAI do a lot of soccer schools over there but there are not too many clubs running them.
"We are spreading the net wider, promoting the image of the club whilst at the same time trying to find more talent."
North End's youth team squad currently has six players who hail from Northern Ireland, all of whom have represented their country at youth level since arriving at Deepdale. The key now is to try encourage players from south of the border to move to the Lilywhites.
"You look at the youth team now, there is a large contingent of Northern Irish lads, we are still looking for good English lads but if there are good players in the Republic as well it is only going to benefit them and more importantly Preston North End," Finch continued.
"Only recently we have been running soccer schools in Northern Ireland, at Eddie Irvine's Sports Complex in Belfast and we have also run one at a smaller club, Drumore Amateurs where last week we had 65 kids attending. We've already spotted a couple of players from there and we are going to try and get them over. The greater volume of kids we see, the more chance we have of getting one or two through and the better chance we have of unearthing that gem.
"The funny thing is that there are now lads in Northern Ireland wearing Preston North End shirts and not just Manchester United, Liverpool, Celtic and Rangers shirts. By putting on these soccer schools in southern Ireland we can hopefully get them wearing Preston North End shirts elsewhere."
North End begin the first of their Southern Ireland soccer schools from the 21st-22nd November when the club will be sending Andy Fensome, Joe Parkinson, Billy Legg, Chris McGrail, Ashley Higgins and Simon Hampson to Buncrana Hearts.
Many thanks to the Inish Times for the photographs
