THE 40th anniversary SuperCupNI youth football extravaganza has yielded an estimated £8 million economic bonanza for the north coast, its organisers say.
The tournament - which has spawned a clutch of sporting household names like David Beckham, Ryan Giggs, Danny Welbeck and Marcus Rashford - featured 64 teams drawn from the US, Europe, the Republic, Northern Ireland and Britain.
They played more than 100 games over the week at 20 venues across Causeway Coast & Glens, Mid and East Antrim and Antrim & Newtownabbey, drawing in a combined "gate" of close to 70,000.
And based on early estimates, the direct spend this year will be in the region of £8 million.
Research undertaken by SuperCup NI after the 2022 tournament showed that 65,500 people attended, spending an £7.4 million over the week, generated through direct visitor expenditure from spectators, the high number of participants, including the teams, officials, and other tournament personnel including volunteers, event officials and media.
Some £4.1m of that alone was spent on accommodation, with 29 per cent of visitors coming from outside Northern Ireland and 70 per cent of local attendees opting to stay overnight.
And organisers say those figures are likely to be eclipsed this time, especially given the introduction of a special Elite section which proved a massive draw for fans of Man United, Liverpool, Hertha Berlin and Valencia.
It’s not just hotels that are benefitting, with 21 per cent staying in guest houses or B&Bs, 23 per cent in self-catering and 12 per cent in motor homes, caravans, or camp sites.
Victor Leonard of SuperCup NI, who has been involved with the tournament since its inauguration in 1983, said: “The total economic impact has increased from £4.4m in 2019 to £7.4m last year.
“That's a 68 per cent rise, even taking on board the price hikes post Covid-19 within the hospitality sector and fuel, food and travel costs impacted by an inflation rate of 7.9 per cent in May 2022.
“The addition of an under-14 category helped contribute to 29 per cent more visitors than 2019, ticket sales at twice the previous level and visitors staying longer over the week of the event.
“This year’s Elite’s section was a huge benefit as well, so we'll certainly pass the 2022 receipts.”
The tournament (which for many years operated as The Milk Cup) launched modestly in 1983 and was played across six venues in the Coleraine area with just eight teams from Northern Ireland, England, Scotland, visitors from Algeria and a team from Coleraine’s twin town la-Roche-sur-Yon in the west of France.
This year's team tally was 64, and as well as the four Elites it included international teams IDA Bermuda, Ichifuna from Japan, Tigres Monterrey from Mexico, Surf Select, FC America and Northeast Rush from the US, and Prospects 2 Pro Academy from Canada.
Participants from Britain included Kilmarnock, St Mirren, Celtic, Brighton & Hove Albion, Plymouth Argyle, Newcastle United, Rangers, Charlton Athletic, West Ham and Stevenage.
The SuperCupNI also featured six country teams, 12 girls teams (including from the US,), nine Irish League sides and five from the Republic.
Victor Leonard adds: “The tournament gets bigger year on year - and who knows how big it could yet grow.”
CLASS OF THE 1990s
- Ryan Giggs
- Nick Barnby
- Mark Buchan
- David Beckham
- Nicky Butt
- Gary Neville
- Paul Scholes
- Keith Gilllespie
- Robbie Savage
CLASS OF THE 2000s:
- Kieran Richardson
- Jack Rodwell
- Giovanni dos Santos
- Sergio Busquets
- Danny Welbeck
- Frederico Macheda
- Ross Barkley
- Jesse Lingard
- Michael Keane
CLASS OF THE 2010s:
- Ruben Loftus-Cheek
- Marcus Rashford
- Will Grigg
- Sean Ferguson
- Hirving Lozano
- Andreas Pereira
WHO STAYED WHERE IN 2023:
- Lodge Hotel Coleraine – four teams from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Spain.
- Corrs Corner Hotel Newtownabbey - two USA teams.
- Dunsilly Hotel Antrim - two teams from Scotland and Northern Ireland
- Marine Hotel Ballycastle - four teams from England, Germany and Mexico.
- Holiday Inn Express Antrim – six teams from the USA and Republic of Ireland.
- Drummond Hotel Ballykelly – two teams from Scotland
WHO OPENED PAST TOURNAMENTS:
- 1984 – Peter Doherty
- 1985 – Martin O’Neill
- 1987 – Iam McFaul
- 1992 – Denis Law
- 1993 – Billy Bingham
- 1997 – Pat Jennings
- 2000 – Graeme Souness
- 2001 – Peter Beardsley
- 2003 – Branco
- 2004 – Sir Alex Ferguson
- 2005 – Brian McClair
- 2008 – Ole Gunnar Solskjaer
- 2011 – Norman Whiteside
- 2023 – Steven Davis
