There are easier ways to spend an October weekend than playing six matches against Swedish and Catalan opposition, but ask the Castle Villa FC girls and they wouldn’t swap it. The Girls 2010 squad travelled to Spain with DB Sports Tours for the October edition of Football Cup Barcelona, one of the biggest youth football tournaments on the Costa Daurada, and came home with a few goals, a lot of stories and a very good reason to come back.
Flying Out to Salou
The trip ran from October 15th to 19th, with flights included in the package. The tournament is based in Salou, about an hour south of Barcelona and only 20 minutes from Reus Airport, which keeps travel days short. Once the group landed, transfers took care of the rest.
On arrival day there was tournament check in and age check at the Futbol Salou sports complex, then a transfer to Cambrils Park Resort for the rest of the day. Dinner, a bit of free time and an early night. Matches started first thing the next morning.
A Tough Group
The Girls 2010 section at Football Cup Barcelona was a group of six teams from three countries. Castle Villa FC were in there with two other Irish sides, Kilcullen AFC and St Patricks FC, plus Spånga IS and Järna SK from Sweden and EF Gava Villarreal CF from Catalonia.
It was always going to be a hard group. Järna SK went on to win it, and Spånga IS finished second.
Day One: Saturday
Castle Villa started the way you’d want to, beating EF Gava Villarreal CF 1-0 with a goal from Ellen Byrne. A strong 9:50am start, a win on the board and plenty of confidence in the camp.
The second game was a different story. Spånga IS, the eventual runners-up, won 3-0 on a busy morning. But the girls bounced back in the afternoon with a 1-1 draw against fellow Irish side Kilcullen AFC, Ruby Sheridan getting the goal.
Day Two: Sunday
Sunday opened with a 2-2 draw against St Patricks FC, with Abbie Landon and Ruby Sheridan both on the scoresheet.
Then came the big one. The girls took on Järna SK, the team that would go on to be crowned champions. Järna were flying all weekend, scoring 19 goals across the tournament and conceding just once. That one goal? It came from Castle Villa FC, Grace Murphy getting it in a 3-1 defeat. Not a bad thing to say you did against the champions.
With the group finished, the girls played St Patricks FC again in the 5th and 6th place game, and this time there was no mistake. Grace Murphy scored twice in a 2-0 win to finish the tournament on a high.
The Results
| Match | Opponent | Result | Scorers |
| Group, Saturday | EF Gava Villarreal CF (Catalonia) | 1-0 win | Ellen Byrne |
| Group, Saturday | Spånga IS (Sweden) | 0-3 loss | |
| Group, Saturday | Kilcullen AFC (Ireland) | 1-1 draw | Ruby Sheridan |
| Group, Sunday | St Patricks FC (Ireland) | 2-2 draw | Abbie Landon, Ruby Sheridan |
| Group, Sunday | Järna SK (Sweden) | 1-3 loss | Grace Murphy |
| 5th place play-off | St Patricks FC (Ireland) | 2-0 win | Grace Murphy (2) |
Final Position and Standout Moments
Castle Villa FC finished 5th overall in the Girls 2010 section. Grace Murphy ended the weekend with 3 goals, which put her among the top scorers in the section, and Ruby Sheridan added 2. Seven goals in six games from a group that played some of the best age-group sides from Sweden and Catalonia.
There was one other stat the whole squad should be proud of. Castle Villa FC finished the tournament without a single card. In a competitive group with games that were played at real pace, that says a lot about the girls and the way they play.
Cambrils Park Resort
Away from the pitch, the squad stayed at Cambrils Park Resort, a 4-star sports village on the Costa Daurada. Everything is in one place, the accommodation is villa and apartment style, so players stay together, and there’s free time built into the schedule to enjoy the resort before and after the games.
Meals were all taken at the resort too. The package was full board, with breakfast, lunch and dinner included, which makes match days a lot easier for coaches and parents.
Extending Our Exclusive Partnership with Cambrils Park
Here’s some news we’re delighted to share. DB Sports Tours has extended its exclusive partnership with Cambrils Park Resort for training camps for Irish teams for another three years.
For Irish clubs, academies and schoolboy and schoolgirl teams, that means a warm weather training camp in Spain with a partner we know inside out. Cambrils Park is the same base used by teams for tournament trips like Football Cup Barcelona, Costa Daurada Cup, Mare Nostrum Cup & Surf International Cup, so you can combine a training camp with a tournament or keep it as a stand-alone camp. Either way, it’s built around your squad, your dates and your budget.
What the Castle Villa Package Included
The Castle Villa FC trip was a 5 day, 4 night package. It included:
- Return flights
- 4 nights accommodation at Cambrils Park Resort
- Full board, with breakfast, lunch and dinner every day
- Airport transfers and a tournament shuttle from accommodation to the pitches and back
- Tournament entry and registration
- Matches (Castle Villa played six in total)
- Tournament medals for every player and coach
- An online booking form and monthly instalment payments
Next Up: Three More Teams at Football Cup Barcelona
The football doesn’t stop there. Next week the second October edition of Football Cup Barcelona gets underway in Salou, and DB Sports Tours has three more teams heading out:
- Passage AFC from Cork
- Ballina Town from Sligo
- Castle Villa FC Boys from Kildare
We’ll be back next week with a full report on how all three got on, including the results, the goal scorers and the best moments from the weekend. Keep an eye on the blog.
Football Cup Barcelona 2027: Book Now for October
Football Cup Barcelona is already lining up its 2027 dates, and demand is high. The April 2027 tournament (3 to 4 April) is currently sold out, with a waiting list of teams hoping to get in.
The good news is that we are now taking bookings for October 2027:
- 23 to 24 October 2027
- 30 to 31 October 2027
The tournament runs in the Salou and Cambrils area and regularly welcomes 35 or more Irish teams each year, along with sides from England, Scotland, Wales, Sweden, Denmark, Finland and Spain. It caters for boys and girls across a range of age groups, so whether your club is sending a young 7v7 team or an older 11v11 side, there’s a place for you.
With DB Sports Tours you get everything under one roof: flights, accommodation at Cambrils Park, full board, transfers and tournament entry, all in one package. We can also add extra nights or build a training camp around the tournament. If you’re looking for a youth football tournament in Spain for your club, school team or academy, October 2027 is the one to plan for, and the earlier you book, the better your choice of dates and the longer you have to spread the cost.
Castle Villa FC have shown what a weekend in Spain can do for a team. Maybe yours is next.
Ready to enter Football Cup Barcelona October 2027? Contact us today to find out more and start planning your team’s trip
