Georgetown University Hoyas Head to England March 4th – March 13th, 2016
WorldStrides Excel Sports had the pleasure of working with Georgetown University Men’s Soccer team in creating a once in a lifetime trip to Manchester and London, England! The Hoyas spent their 2016 Spring Break on a 10 day tour with Excel that included visits to English Premier League matches, guest coaching sessions, and international friendly games vs. top professional academy teams! The Hoyas departed the United States for their 10 day tour and touched down in Manchester, England which marked the start of their tour. After arriving in Manchester, the team headed to Manchester City training ground for a light training session, to work off their jet leg. After a great training session the team headed to Etihad stadium to watch their first English Premier League (EPL) match between Manchester City and Aston Villa – Manchester City came out on top with a 4-0 victory! Click here to watch a highlight video from Day 1 of Georgetown’s Tour! The first day in England for the Hoyas was an action packed day, but now it was time for the team to soak up the history of “football” with a guided tour of Old Trafford Stadium – home of Manchester United. As the team stepped into the “Theatre of Dreams” they saw the stadium through the eyes of Manchester United greats themselves. The team stood in Sir Alex Ferguson Stand, saw the players’ dressing room, and walked through the player’s tunnel and followed in the footsteps of so many legendary reds. Following the stadium tour the team attended their second EPL game at Birmingham for the West Bromwich Albion vs. Manchester United match, where West Bromwich came out on top with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United. Click here to watch a highlight video from Day 2 and 3 of Georgetown’s Tour! It was finally time for the Hoyas to take to the pitch where they played in their first international friendly game vs. Burnley FC U21 team at Curzon Ashton Fields. The game was a hard fought match and was truly a once in a lifetime experience for the team. The Hoyas tour continued with a match against Everton U18/U19’s team at Finch Farm Training Complex – the official training ground of Everton FC. Following an exciting match the team
departed for a short day trip to Liverpool, England, where they toured Albert Docks and the world famous Beatles Museum. Next, it was time for more soccer; the Hoyas attended their third EPL game and watched a spectacular match between Bolton Wanders and Ipswich Town FC! After spending 4 days in Manchester it was time for Georgetown to head to London where they would be staying for the remainder of their trip. After arriving in London the team had a light training session and departed for an evening game at Chelsea’s Stamford Bridge Stadium. The team attended an UEFA Champions League game between Chelsea and Paris St. Germain – which was truly a once in a lifetime experience! The next day the team departed on a private bus to Crystal Palace training ground to watch a 1st team training session, which was then followed by an afternoon of sightseeing in London! The tour continued with Georgetown departing for QPR where they played their third and final international friendly game vs. Queens Park Rangers U21’s at QPR training grounds! Georgetown came up on top with a victory over the U21 squad. With only one full day remaining in London the team had an afternoon visit to a Championship game between QPR and Brentford! The morning leading up to their departure it was time for the team to get in one last international training session with QPR’s U21 Coach, Murray Jones! After a spectacular training session it was time for the Hoyas to depart England and head back to Washington D.C for the start of the spring season! For more information regarding WorldStrides Excel Sports, please visit our website at www.eurosoccertours.net or www.worldstrides.com/sports If you are interested in planning an international soccer trip with your team, contact Eric McAleer at eric@excelsports.net or Daniel Dicce at danieldicce@excelsports.net or call 410-489-2287!