Expats descend on Belgium for finals

A TINY corner of Belgium promises to rival the atmosphere of Croke Park or Semple Stadium this weekend.

Hundreds of GAA expats descend upon the University of Leuven on Saturday and Sunday to take part in the final round of the European hurling and camogie championships.

Having gone through three previous rounds in Den Haag, Zurich and Budapest, the tournament tables are starting to take shape with Zurich and Den Haag neck and neck heading into the final day of matches, while the Belgian ladies have already secured the European honours with impressive showings in all three previous rounds.

The tournament has garnered greater attention this year with more teams participating and a record number of players on show to mark the most successful contest since the first tournament in 2002.

Karl Cogan, of the Zurich GAA club, anticipates an exciting decider weekend.

He explained: “Going into the final round we have Zurich on 71 points and Den Haag on 70 points and Belgium are in third place on 54 points I believe, so it’s all to play for really with ourselves (Zurich) & Den Haag battling it out for the overall winners’ spot and Belgium looking to win their home tournament.

“So far Den Haag won their home tournament and the Budapest round with Zurich in the runners-up position on both occasions, and Zurich bridged a gap of five years to win our own tournament at the end of June, turning the tables on Den Haag in the final. Belgium have three third-place finishes.

“Our own preparations has been hampered by holidays and the fact that we have had limited training facilities, but we will travel to Belgium with full squads ready to compete for both the hurling and camogie tournaments.

Cogan added: “Belgium ladies have the overall camogie tournament sewn up at this stage, but the tournament on the day should be keenly contested with Belgium A&B, Zurich, Luxembourg and Paris taking part.”