Last Wednesday was a particularly busy day for United’s young Blues as they went up against the Budaörs under-19 side in their latest fixture on their ‘Away goals count double: score yours through EU Mobility!’ trip to Budapest.
The game was played at the Globall Hotel, Hungary’s national youth development centre, and another good performance saw the Cumbrians run out as 7-1 winners in the game.
Following post-match recovery and a bite to eat it was then off to the Sostoi Stadion to watch Mol Vidi take on AEK Athens in the first leg of a Champions League qualifying fixture. A late goal from the home side couldn’t prevent Athens from taking a 2-1 lead into next Tuesday’s return meeting in Greece.
Academy coaching chief Dave Wilkes said: “This has been a great experience for the lads so far. They’re getting to see how things are done in a different country, in terms of football training and development, and they’re also getting to see a completely different culture.
“They’ve conducted themselves really well and they’ve been a credit to the club and to the country, along with the Bristol Rovers staff and lads who are over here with us.”
As part of the Erasmus+ programme in Telki - managed by Ecorys UK as part of the UK National Agency - the club was awarded funding to take part in the trip, with a focus on learning and development at the core of the work being done in one of Europe’s most fascinating locations.