The eurofootballfives.com summer Veterans Tournament is very much a moveable feast. Following our debut in Lisbon in 2013, we have taken in the veritable delights of Mallorca in 2014, 2017 & 2023, the Algarve in 2015 & 2018, a return to Lisbon in 2016 and 2022 plus Alicante in 2019. The tenth edition of our summer veterans tournament was upon us in Mallorca once more and we couldn't wait to get started in Group B.

Previous winners:

2013: Sao Marcos (Por)

2014: Palmesanos (Spa)

2015: Mini FC (Por)

2016: Sago (Por)

2017: FC Mahou (Eng)

2018: Mini FC (Por)

2019: Esparta (Spa)

2022: FC Mahou (Eng)

2023: Duktil Balear (Spa)

First up in Group B was VTF Elite (Spa) versus Aston Birra (Ecu). Both teams were on debut in our Veterans events. Ecuador 100% have played in our Mallorca tournament since 2011 and the Aston Birra team was made up of their veterans, many of whom who had played 13 years ago for the Ecuador 100% squad.

Ecuador 100% were looking for a fourth consecutive title in the Open Age section of the tournament so the Aston Birra team were well fancied in the Veterans category by association. They lived up to that billing with a fast start in their opening fixture.

Andres Dorada opened the scoring for Aston Birra with Jhon Valencia scoring against the men from Valencia. Jhon Valencia added his second and his team's third to seal victory. There was a clean sheet for Luis Salamanca and his defence as Aston Birra announced themselves to the tournament in style.

The final team in Group B scheduled to get their campaign underway was Lucanos Locos (Pol) versus VTF Elite (Spa). This was VTF Elite's second game of the tournament and they were looking to bounce back from opening game defeat.

Lucanos Locos were making their second appearance in our tournaments having enjoyed a promising debut at the 2023 Barcelona Fives. They opened up with a 3-2 defeat to AFC Blue Boys but were then off and running with a 3-0 defeat of Atletico Funk. 2-1 and 4-1 wins over Bure Park Seniors and TNF followed. Then a sensational 1-0 win over league leaders Beijing Rockets put them in prime position to qualify for the Cup. However, a final game 3-1 defeat to JK Silvertown saw them miss out by a point as they finished third in the seven team table. In the Plate they picked up a 1-0 QF win over Bure Park Old Boys before a 3-2 SF win over Atletico Funk. They met JK Silvertown for a second time in the Plate Final. The English team went on to do the double over Lucanos Locos as a solitary goal saw the Polish side lose 1-0.

This was a tough fixture for VTF Elite to follow their 3-0 defeat to Aston Birra but it was one they excelled in. Joe Kersey gave his team a 1-0 lead initially but they were pegged back by the Polish side. Captain Jakub Kociemski was the man with the equaliser.

VTF Elite were back in front when Kevin Scollon found the back of the net. 2-1 became 3-1 and it was Scollon again with the goal. Final score 3-1 to VTF Elite.

Rain Dragons (Eng) were finally able to get their campaign up and running when they met Aston Birra on Campo B. Aston Birra had opened up with a 3-0 win over VTF Elite and looked to be a tough opponent first up for Rain Dragons.

Rain Dragons last appearance with us was at the 2019 Gdansk Tournament where they opened up with wins over Finland's TaHu (4-1) and TS Marpoli (3-0). A 2-2 draw against Pink Lloyd A before getting back to winning ways against Dragon Balls (2-0). They then suffered a 5-0 loss to Alea Iacta Est before another 2-2 draw against RAF Boulmer B. It meant they finished third in the league table and just a point off the Cup qualification places. In the Plate competition they defeated RAF Boulmer A (3-0) in the Quarters before going out 3-0 to DDCH in the Semi-Finals.

That was in the Open Age, this was their first appearance in the Veterans section. They got off to a flying start with a goal from their number 6, Yulong Meng. If only they could have got through to half-time with the lead in tact but, sadly for them, Aston Birra were level before the break with a goal from Paul Romain. In the second half, fresh from his brace against VTF Elite, Jhon Valencia put Aston Birra ahead.

The game was taken out of the reach of Rain Dragons when Bayron Caicedo made it 3-1 to complete a second successive victory for Aston Birra.

The game that took us to the halfway stage of Group B would have been Lucanos Locos against Urbansport Vets so we chalked up the 3-0 walkover win for Lucanos Locos and the situation in Group B after 5 games was as follows:

Veterans

(For Open Age, click introduction and then select the relevant Open Age section)