Soccer served as the gateway to cultural discovery, team bonding, and lifelong memories.The team participated in three international friendlies, three training sessions with local clubs and coaches, and a travel itinerary that included castles, cliffs and caves.
The tour began with an overnight flight across the Atlantic Ocean, and fortunately for the Kickers, it was a direct flight from Cleveland to Dublin, and they hit the ground running. Our private bus picked us up at Dublin airport and the journey began with a drive to Belfast in Northern Ireland. Rainy weather gave us a first hand look at why Ireland’s landscapes are so famously green. We began with a brief stop at Titanic Belfast to stretch our legs, then hotel check in and lunch in Belfast’s City Cathedral Quarter.
Our tour guides joined us for a drive that took us to City Hall, the Lanyon Building and Botanic Gardens at Queen’s University, through the Cathedral Quarter, and out to Falls Road. The players saw the political murals and the Peace Wall up close, a sobering and compelling landmark combining art, history and global social commentary.
Our guide “kicked left” and our driver “kicked right” so we experienced both political perspectives in the current day. By late afternoon, the team was out at Newforge Sports Complex for a light training session to loosen up after travel. The day closed with a welcome dinner of traditional fish and chips to kick off the week!
Day two brought the trip’s first real taste of what makes these tours special: a 90-minute training session with the coaching staff of Rosario YFC, a respected Belfast youth club, at Ulidia Playing Fields. Training with local coaches offered a unique session filled with different tips, tricks and drills. The afternoon found us exploring the northeast coast, with a drive up to Giant’s Causeway, a spectacular geological wonder formed by an extinct volcano that is over 60 million years old. The group embarked on a cliff walk, showing the natural beauty and coastlines of the area. In keeping with embracing the local cuisine, dinner was a tremendous bowl of Irish Stew!
From Belfast, the Kickers traveled towards Ireland’s west coast. Along the way, we stopped at the Marble Arch Caves to explore underground limestone chambers and river passages that are estimated to be at least 1 million years old. After checking into our hotel in Galway, we headed to our first international friendly match against Galway FA. In Ireland, they joke that they get most seasons every day, and we saw that with quite cool evening temperatures. Dinner was a hearty buffet at the hotel, well earned after a day of travel, sightseeing and soccer!
The next day brought a guided walking tour of Galway city including Galway Cathedral, the River Corrib Walk and Quay Street with its colorful storefronts. The afternoon was a choice of self exploring in Galway; or a drive with mountains and lakes scenery through Connemara with a stop at Kylemore Abbey for lunch and picturesque views at Lough Inagh. Galway is known as a college town as there are about 20,000 students with a total population of 80,000. The evening brought our next friendly match vs. Mervue United, followed by a post-match dinner and social with the Mervue club.
The Irish players, parents and coaches were awesome hosts embodying all that we’ve heard about the Irish culture of being warm, friendly and filled with humor! Conversations overhead with Mervue players, found them in awe that in America, we have the famous Chick-fil-A and Raising Cane’s. They said they hoped to eat this famous fast food one day. Regardless of what time zone we are in, we will watch soccer. Our families enjoyed each other’s company staying up late to watch the World Cup matches, although we did not discuss the quarterfinal loss for US National Team the next morning.
The tour’s midpoint took the group south toward Cork, Ireland’s second largest city with a stop along the way at the Cliffs of Moher. The group walked the coastal pathways and briefly saw the massive sea cliffs when the fog blew through. Back on the road, we made a couple of stops to stretch our legs. At the village of Bunratty for lunch and Adare, a historic town known for its thatched cottages, for ice cream. By evening, the Kickers had checked into Cork, and had a fine dining meal in Cork City Centre.
Cork delivered on both the tour’s soccer training component and Ireland’s cultural highlights. The team trained under an FAI UEFA Elite Youth A-licensed coach for a morning session, working with our coaches to share drills and strategies. The afternoon found us relaxing in the historic port and fishing town of Kinsale, on the southern coast of Ireland. Lunch, shopping and a harbor cruise were on the list of things to do.
The next day found us kissing the legendary Blarney Stone and walking the grounds and gardens of the beautiful Blarney Castle. Lunch was at Marina Market, a large indoor market with food and quirky retail vendors. As we continued to experience all seasons in our week long trip, the temperature came close to breaking their heat record as we walked along the guided city tour of Cork. We walked through the University College Cork, St. Finnbarr’s Cathedral and Elizabeth Fort. The evening saw the tour’s third and final friendly against Passage AFC, capped off with a post-match dinner and social at the clubhouse.
Along the final stretch to Dublin, we stopped along the way at the Rock of Cashel for a look at a stunning collection of medieval architecture and sweeping countryside views. The next stop in Dublin brought the Kickers out of the countryside and into a very busy and energetic city. After lunch on Grafton Street, we went on a guided walking tour of the capital including St. Stephen’s Green, Trinity College and the Temple Bar area. We visited the famous Molly Malone statue and enjoyed a farewell dinner at an Irish Pub with music and dancing.
There’s so many beautiful spots in Ireland, and in our quest to see as many as we could manage, one final stop on the west coast before the airport on Sunday morning, to Howth. A scenic coastal village with a walk to the lighthouse or a stroll along the piers, then a peak at the stunning coastal cliffs before the plane ride home.
Nine days. Three matches against Irish clubs. Three training sessions led by local coaches. Countless unforgettable moments exploring some of Ireland’s most iconic landmarks and landscapes. For the Cleveland Kickers Girls Soccer Club, this wasn’t just a summer soccer tour—it was an opportunity to experience the world through the game they love.
At United Soccer Academy, every international tour is built on a simple belief: soccer is the world’s game. It has the power to bring people together across oceans, cultures, and languages. Whether competing on the pitch, training alongside local players, or standing atop Ireland’s dramatic cliffs, the team discovered that the connections made through soccer extend far beyond the final whistle.
International team travel isn’t just about winning matches. It’s about broadening perspectives, building lifelong friendships, embracing new cultures, and creating memories that shape young athletes both on and off the field. That’s the experience the Cleveland Kickers found in Ireland—and it’s the experience that defines every United Soccer Academy tour.