FC United draw French side Vinsky FC and Krakow Dragoons from Poland in the group phase of the 2023-24 Fenix Trophy
FC United draw French side Vinsky FC and Krakow Dragoons from Poland in the group phase of the 2023-24 Fenix Trophy
The Fenix Trophy is back for its third edition and this season’s tournament will be the biggest so far with twelve ‘iconic’ non-professional football clubs from ten European countries taking part. Last year was a blast with trips to Beveren and Valencia in the group stage followed by an unforgettable occasion in Milan’s San Siro in the Final 4 and we’re delighted that FC United are one of three English clubs in this year’s tournament.
Once again, there is a wonderful mix of clubs involved, each with a fascinating story to tell: there are old, historic clubs formed more than a century ago and others established in the last decade including a mere toddler born only two years ago; there are trailblazers in supporter ownership and equality; clubs born in the internet age who’ve amassed huge online followings; big city clubs formed to offer a welcoming community for immigrants; and clubs who’ve been league champions in years gone by and another which lists the ‘Mr Blobby Cup’ amongst its major honours.
Five clubs from last year’s tournament, including ourselves, are competing again this year – BK Skjold, Prague Raptors, KSK Beveren and Krakow Dragoons are the others – meaning that there are seven new teams involved this year and five new countries with the Fenix looking forward to visiting Norway, Finland, France, Romania and Wales for the first time. The tournament has also expanded geographically stretching as far north as Oslo and further south and east to Bucharest.
This expansion means that by the end of this season 19 football clubs from 15 different European countries will have competed in the first three Fenix Trophy tournaments with just two teams – ourselves and Prague Raptors - and three countries – England, Czechia and Poland – represented in all three tournaments. Notable for their absence from this year’s Fenix Trophy are our Milanese friends Brera who are taking a break from playing football this season but are continuing to organise the tournament.
The format
The format of this year’s tournament is similar to last year with an initial group phase featuring four groups of three teams each that will play each other home and away before the four group winners head to the ‘Final 4’ phase in the spring or early summer of 2024. The venue and dates for the Final 4 are to be confirmed.
This means that each team will play four matches in total during the group phase – with the four group winners playing a further two matches in the Final 4 (the semi-finals and either the final or third place play-off) – and, as in previous years, every match will be streamed live, and will be free to watch, on the tournament’s YouTube channel.
The draw
In Saturday’s draw FC United were paired with Vinsky FC and Krakow Dragoons in Group C.
Vinsky FC were formed in 2017 as an intriguing initiative by YouTuber and French football personality Vincent Maduro (aka Vinsky360) to bring the day to day life of an amateur football club to a wider audience. In only six years it has amassed a huge online following and has gone from strength to strength on the pitch too with three promotions in three years. The club is based near Paris and currently competes in the regionalised eleventh tier of French football. Aside from a futsal tournament in Lille in 2017 this will be FC United’s first trip to France.
Krakow Dragoons are a multi-national club based in the Polish city of Krakow that was founded in 2016 to provide a means for immigrants to more easily integrate into the local community. Its innovative approach, resulting in a team that is more diverse than many professional clubs in Poland, has attracted plenty of media attention at home and abroad. The Dragoons made their Fenix debut last year but are still chasing their first win in the tournament. This will be the second time that FC have faced Polish opposition in the Fenix Trophy having made our Fenix debut in Warsaw against AKS Zly in 2021.
The other groups and teams
The nine other teams competing in this year’s tournament are as follows:
Group A
BK Skjold – the Danish club, based in the heart of Copenhagen, are the current Fenix Trophy holders having triumphed on their Fenix debut by beating Prague Raptors 3-0 in the final in Milan’s San Siro. The club was founded in 1915 and like many grassroots clubs in Denmark it is owned by its players who become members when they begin to play for the club. It’s currently the biggest football club in Denmark when measured by number of members (more than 3,000) and plays in the fifth tier of Danish football.
Enfield Town – established in 2001 by the Enfield Supporters’ Trust – following the mismanagement of Enfield FC - and the first football club in England to be set up, owned and run by its supporters. Enfield Town has been an inspiration for many fan-owned clubs over the last two decades including FC United. In 2017 they were awarded the Chartered Standard Community Club of the Year by the Middlesex Football Association in recognition of their extensive community work. Like Lewes they currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division in the seventh tier of English football.
Llanwit Major – community-focused club from south Wales which was formed in 1962 to give people the opportunity to play football in a rugby dominated town. They play in the Cymru South league, at the second tier of Welsh football, and are known as the ‘little brother’ of Boca Juniors with thousands of the Argentinian club’s supporters following the Welsh club on social media. The only football club in the world to have a windmill in their stadium.
Group B
Prague Raptors – a multi-national club (with players from more than 50 nations across its men’s, women’s and academy teams) that was formed in 2017 and aims to build a welcoming community for newcomers in the heart of the Czech capital committed to playing attractive football and promoting diversity through a range of community projects. Raptors have been the beaten finalists in each of the first two tournaments – so will be hoping that it’s third time lucky this time round - and, along with FC United, they are the only club to feature in all of the first three editions of the Fenix Trophy.
Venus Bucuresti – one of the oldest football clubs in Romania, formed in 1914 and based in the capital city of Bucharest. Between 1920 and 1940 Venus was the most successful club in Romanian football winning eight league championships and later on was the first Romanian club to play in European competition. The club was dissolved in 1948 but was eventually reformed in 2014 and currently plays in the fourth tier of Romanian football.
Gilla FC – an innovative club founded in 2022 and based in the Finnish capital of Helsinki that has, in a relatively short time, become one of “the most followed football clubs in Finland” attracting a community of mostly young supporters who follow the team to every game. The club aims to be accessible and open to all – with free admission to matches – and currently plays in the seventh tier of Finnish football.
Group D
KSK Beveren – the only supporter-owned club in Belgium who made their Fenix Trophy debut in last year’s tournament which included two memorable group matches against FC United. The club was founded in 1935 and enjoyed its most successful period in the late seventies and early eighties when it was twice Belgian champions, won two Belgian Cups and also played in the European Cup Winners’ Cup. They currently play in the first division of the East Flanders provincial league in the sixth tier of the Belgian football pyramid.
Lewes FC – a supporter-owned club from Sussex in south-east England who were formed in 1885 and became fan-owned in 2010 following serious financial problems. The men’s team currently play in the Isthmian League Premier Division, in the seventh tier of English football. In 2017 Lewes became the first semi-professional football club in the world to provide both its men’s and women’s teams with equal playing budgets under its Equality FC campaign.
FC Oslo (also known as Gamle Oslo FK) - the club was founded in 2017 as a way to unite Oslo through football with an offering that is affordable to everyone. With co-founder and former Ghana international Adam Larsen Kwarasey as coach, FC Oslo was undefeated in its first season and, after two promotions, now plays in the eighth tier of Norwegian football. The club was founded as FC Oslo but the name was deemed unsuitable for a new club so, for now, they are officially known as Gamle Oslo FK (Gamle means ‘old’ in Norwegian) but still refer to themselves as FC Oslo in all their communications – a name which they hope to claim back in future. The Norwegian fashion brand Holzweiler is the club’s main sponsor.
It promises to be another enthralling competition and we’re proud to be involved in the Fenix Trophy for the third consecutive season. Let the Fenix fly again.