Foyle Cup magic rains down on the Complex

The heavens opened above Derry on Tuesday afternoon but the pouring rain did little to dampen spirits at football pitches across the city and beyond as the Foyle Cup got into full swing.

Due to other commitments, I haven't been at the legendary tournament for a few years now, but as I went out and about to various locations on Tuesday, I was very happily reminded of what makes this event so special.

My day started at the Leafair 3G pitches, where a healthy contingent of proud mammies, daddies, grannies, grandas and assorted family members gathered to watch the youngsters play.

One of those mammies, Lorraine D'Arcy-McCauley, is an old work colleague of mine (we endured the dystopian nightmare that is the Altnagelvin medical records department together); three of her sons were in action for Foyle Harps.

“It's such a great week,” she said to me. “The wains are making memories and building friendships on and off the pitch and the craic is brilliant. Football and Foyle Harps mean everything to my boys and to be involved in such a massive event is amazing.”

Leafair, I noticed, had a vibe similar to that of another venerable Derry institution, Feis Dhoire Cholmcille, with wains all running about having the best of craic, just as (more?) interested in what delights the snack shop had to offer as the competitive events happening on the pitch.

Happy young Trojans player Caleb McMenamin came prepared.

My next stop was Brooke Park, where the two mini-pitches were hosting girls' matches.

Opportunities for girls to play soccer and/or Gaelic football were thin on the ground when I was growing up. It is one of my greatest regrets that I never got to play when I was younger and it is so uplifting for me personally to have witnessed the growth in female participation over the last two decades.

Paul McLaughlin stays nice and dry while his daddy Martin gets drenched! The two were cheering on Paul's son Oscar playing for Don Boscos U9s.

From there, it was on to the Templemore Sports Complex, and it proved such an enjoyable experience that I ended up staying there for the rest of the day.

Special feeling

Watching the U9s in action would bring a smile to the stoniest face. For many young footballers, the Foyle Cup is like a dream.

Best pals PJ Morrison (left) and Nathan Boyle enjoying the craic at the Complex.

It is run like a professional tournament and, for a week, every single boy and girl is made to feel really special; whether it's the coach on the sidelines offering words of encouragement or the cheers of support from relatives and spectators.

Everywhere I looked, I saw happy faces, from the young Trojans keeper who made a crucial save in their final match of the day against Shankill to the Oxford United player who slotted a goal past Draperstown and was the toast of his teammates for those glorious few seconds.

Away from the action on the pitches, I had some lovely encounters with people as I wandered around.

The funniest was the supremely deadpan Paul McLaughlin, there to cheer on son Oscar in the Don Boscos match, who reluctantly let me take a picture of him on the proviso that he wasn't going to look directly at the camera, and me trying to not to laugh at the fact he was the sole person under an enormous umbrella that could have sheltered a whole village. His poor da, Martin, stood beside him getting soaked!

Coach Johnny Ward gives some last-minute advice to the Foyle Harps U10s before their match in Leafair.

I had a lovely conversation with a young man called PJ Morrison, from Hazelbank, who was there to cheer on his cousin Riley Melly who was playing for the Oxford U13s. PJ, who is 19, spoke in the most articulate and moving terms about his passion for inclusion in football and how the Inclusion Cup, held in Derry in March, was such an amazing experience for him. He spoke eloquently on how he would like to see greater opportunities in football for people with disabilities.

“I mean, look at James McClean,” he said. “He has autism, but that has not held him back from being one of the best footballers we have.”

It's a fitting mention given that James, who has rightly been held up as a role model by PJ and so many others, played in the Foyle Cup himself as a youngster with Trojans FC.

As a sports journalist for coming up on 20 years, I simply don't have any superlatives left to adequately describe the brilliance of the Foyle Cup. In terms of logistics alone, it is a marvel of modern science that is right up there with the mysteries of the Egyptian pyramids and how Brad Pitt, near 60, managed to look so phenomenal at Wimbledon this year.

When you think of how intricate an operation it is, with all those matches, pitches, teams and referees to orchestrate, when a minute's delay here and there can knock the whole thing off, the fact that it runs like clockwork, year in and year out, is genuinely miraculous– all the more so given the shoestring budget on which Michael Hutton is operating.

Don Boscos Jrs U8 player Coen Hughes at the Brandywell mini-pitches.

As my friend Lorraine said, the Foyle Cup is about making memories.

Over time, the specifics of who scored what and where they finished up may fade; but these youngsters will never, ever forget how those moments made them feel.