Ever since the start of the EFCB, our club has been actively promoting exchange and assisting teams of all ages, youth or veterans, wishing to travel to Berlin. Sport has the magic power to connect people and in the past we have hosted around 20 teams, mainly from Great Britain, who came to Berlin to play football. Since 2007 we have been going on tour ourselves. Could there be anything more exciting for a player than packing the bag for the weekend and fly to England for example for a match?

When our group returned from England on Sunday night, fellow passengers on board were amazed to see boys in shin guards, football boots and with medals around their necks. The reason for the unconventional travel outfit was their great performance in Bristol. One of our U13 teams had made it into the semi-final and delayed our departure to the airport to the last minute.Of course, everybody was proud of their achievement and all too happy to wait until they were finished playing. The Bristol trip was great fun which definitely made up for the lack of sleep everybody was suffering from at the end of the three-day trip.

After some sightseeing on Saturday morning, our U11's had the chance to play the local side Clevedon United. On a large open grass field, the hosts put up two goals and marked up a small 6-a-side field. Although the Clevedon team was a bit older and far bigger, our players were able to show some of their fine skills. In the end, they won 6-2 and made their first experience with international football. The following day, the Bristol International 5-a-side event proved to be much more of a challenge for our boys. They were up against club and academy players from Plymouth, Northampton, Cardiff, Histon and Bristol. In the beginning the EFCB found it quite difficult to adapt to the pace and physicality of our opponents. But credit to the boys – their heads didn't drop. They improved during the cause of the tournament and finished the competition on a high note.

Caleb's U13 team was up against Gloucester, Plymouth, Northampton, the Bristol Academy and a US team from Lake Oswego. After they won most of their group games convincingly, they qualified for the quarters. In a dramatic match they were able to beat the Shore Academy team and because we were getting closer to our departure time, the boys had only a little break before playing the semi-final. In the end, they were running out of puff a bit and lost narrowly. But what a great tournament they had! Congratulations to all the players.

Following an invitation to take part in an international tournament in England, nine of our U12 players and five accompanying adults made the journey to Bristol, taking full advantage of the low cost direct flights from Berlin Schönefeld. The EFCB group left Berlin on Friday afternoon and was picked up from the airport by our hosts in a minibus. The team stayed in self-contained bungalows at the Warren Holiday Village in Clevedon, about 15 miles away from Bristol. Blessed with very sunny weather, the next day was scheduled for sightseeing in and around Bristol.

On Sunday morning it was time to pack the bags and leave for the Jamie Shore Academy's youth tournament which was held at the spacey sports complex of Pro 5 Soccer in Filton just outside Bristol.
The tournament comprised of 22 teams and all the players came from either football academies or well known youth divisions of English clubs such as Cambridge United. While our players were impressed by the latest technology broadcasting the tournament standings on a big screen, it was soon down to some serious business. The EFCB formed two teams and played a total of 6 group matches each against opponents like Northampton, Plymouth, Bristol and Cambridge.

While all players fought hard to keep up with the pace under the blazing sun, one of the EFCB teams managed to finish second in the group and qualify for the quarter finals. Despite the 1-0 lead, their opponent and later finalist, Cambridge Utd., bounced back and won the tie 1 - 2 in the end. Regardless of the results on the pitch, it was a great experience for the whole group and a big thank you has to go to our host, the Shore Academy, who looked after our group in the best possible way. The trip also whetted our appetite for more - next year we will be back, perhaps even with two teams.