GUERNSEY’S Special Olympics football team are off to Manchester United to start preparing for the defence of their gold medal in Leicester in 2009. The side leave the island on 14 September to take part in an eight-team tournament that will feature Jersey as well.

The action will take place at the Premiership champions’ former training ground – Old Cliff.

The team is coached by Marc Le Page, assisted by Rose Corbet.

‘The main thing is to go to these tournaments to train for the Special Olympics in Leicester in 2009,’ said Le Page.

‘It also gives the boys a decent standard of competition and to play teams that can be better than us.’

The Sarnian side were the stars at the most recent Special Olympics in Glasgow two years ago when they grabbed gold after defeating Yorkshire and Humberside in the final.

On the back of that, captain Colin Robins was named as the BBC South-West sportsperson of the year.

Robins will skipper the side in Manchester.

The rest of the team is Chris Foss, Andrew Martin, Andrew Crimp, Richard Luxon, Timmy Evans, John Belloeil and Paul Le Maitre.

Most of those featured in the island side who got the better of Jersey when they played each other on Muratti day in May.

They also look good to take the honours at the Manchester tournament.

‘When I spoke to Mark Jones who runs the Jersey team, he said we’ve got a very good chance of winning if we have the players whom we put out in the Muratti,’ said Le Page.

The outfit have received financial help for the trip from Credit Suisse and have new tracksuits courtesy of Longview Partners.

They are also looking to raise funds with a stand at the North Show this week.

There is a penalty shoot-out and a lucky dip for some great football prizes. They include two tickets to any Manchester United Premiership home game this season, a family ticket for four to any MK Dons home match, a signed Southampton pennant, a signed Harry Rednapp picture and an MP3 player courtesy of Nsew.

Monies raised will also help fund future trips for the team. They are planning to take part in a triangular tournament in Lothian at Easter and hey also have the regional qualifiers for the Special Olympics in Portsmouth early next year.

Le Page said his team were looking forward to their travels and it benefits them off the pitch as well.

‘They are excited [about going to Manchester] and we’ve got so many different personalities,’ he said.

‘Some take the football seriously, some not so much, but they are all good footballers. We want them to fulfil their potential.

‘It’s personality building as well. It’s quite rewarding when it all comes together.’

Le Page is also on the lookout for new players from Oakvale or Le Rondin schools and children and adults with learning disabilities could also be eligible to play.

From 12 September they will train every Wednesday from 6 to 7pm at Brock Road Youth Centre. For more information, contact Le Page on 07781 119734.