The first ever Socca Champions League took place last month as some of the best club sides in 6 a side football battled it out for the right to take some Euro glory.

Matches in Croatia saw 24 of the very finest on the continent take each other on, and right there in amongst them all, were a team from one of our Lincolnshire Leagues.

FC Ginger Gaffer, who are currently top of the table in our Horncastle Monday league, won their first match against German opposition, before losing against Spanish and Irish sides.

That, though, didn’t hamper their enjoyment of the games too much, as they team explained when our cameras caught up with them at the league.

“It was an amazing experience,” the team said, enthusiastically. “It was all really well run and produced in such a good way, we couldn’t fault it in the slightest.”

The chance to experience their own taste of the Champions League, following in the footsteps of the likes of Ronaldo, Messi and Bale is something the boys won’t forget, as they recalled: “The feeling of walking onto that pitch was amazing.”

Indeed, the confident side reckon they’ve learned from the matches too, and will be putting that into practice. “We’re definitely going to be applying again for next year!” they told us.

It is only through Leisure Leagues exclusive involvement with the International Socca Federation (ISF) that our teams are able to go to the Champions League and be involved in other worldwide events like the World Cup.

There will be plenty more exclusive events in 2019, so keep your eye on how you can be involved.

For more information on the leagues in the Horncastle area click here: https://www.leisureleagues.net/find-a-league/horncastle