Jersey handed Uefa Regions Cup invite

As defending champions of the England FA’s Inter-League Cup, the JFA Combination – Jersey’s grassroots football league – has received an invite to send a squad to Italy next September to play in the Uefa Regions Cup. Their entry, under the guise of ‘England’, comes following an earlier belief that they would miss out owing to pandemic cancellations.

The 2020 Uefa Regions Cup was scrapped as a result of Covid-19 but with England FA officials deciding not to hold an Inter-League Cup in 2021/22, they have reverted to the 2019/20 tournament winners.

England have been drawn into Group 5 alongside Italy, Germany and North Macedonia. Each country will send a side from its top amateur league, with the group winners progressing to the finals in June 2023.

Martin Cassidy, Jersey’s Muratti and JFA Combination XI manager, said: ‘When I took this job the golden driver was to win the Inter-League Cup and get to the Uefa Regions Cup. It’s something most players never get the opportunity to do in their lifetime.

‘The main thing is we have now got what we deserve. We are English champions and we want to go on into Europe. Hopefully we can continue our good form but it will be a tough draw, against Italy and Germany. Both have won the competition before and they will be at a very high standard.

‘The players will be delighted. These will be international fixtures and we will need to make sure every player is available for the tournament. We’ve got to have all our top players and I’m sure they will all want to play.’

Group 5 is due to begin on or around 28 September 2022, with a venue in Italy to be confirmed.

Jersey has reached this stage of European football just once before, in 2013, when they met Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland and hosts San Marino in the Regions Cup’s intermediary stage.

Full story in Friday’s JEP.

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