24/06/2026
Germany did not disappoint! What a weekend!
Bit of a delayed post but it’s taken me a few days to semi recover 🤣. No idea how the boys are managing to cope because I’m still man down 🙈
We started our long journey down to Ashford on Thursday morning, stopping off at Hudsons Catering in Blackburn to stock up on teas/coffees and sandwiches. A great wee shop I didn’t know about beforehand but will definitely be visiting again. Highly recommend 👍🏽. We then carried on down the road having a few sing songs and a lot of laughs on the way. A quick pit stop to get the kids watered and fed at the harvester restaurant before getting to our hotel for some sleep.
Friday morning we got up and made the 20 min journey to Folkestone where we boarded le shuttle to Calais France. Some of our boys were setting foot outside the uk for the first time so you can imagine how excited they were. Even better the weather was high 20degrees and it felt like a proper summer road trip.
Pressing on through France, Belgium, Netherlands and then finally into Germany we arrived at our destination in Abbehausen. Still roasting hot we set up camp, got the Scotland flags flying, and then attended the welcome BBQ with the other teams. A great evening was had, but then of course Scotland had to go and try ruin it by getting beat by Morocco 😭 and then almost instantly after the game we were hit by a thunderstorm. To be fair the boys were completely out for the count by then and didn’t even know about the storm until they woke in the morning to see the campsite in a bit of a mess and the parents and coaches trying to fix our gazebo and find our lost items that had blown away 🤣
Saturday was absolutely amazing. The weather into the mid 30 degrees, coaches got the kilts on, the boys all pumped up, getting ready for battle, hair sprayed blue, flags flying high and just as the teams all lined up to do our opening parade, we were very shocked to see that the hosts had organised a pipe band to play the national anthem for us. The boys were so buzzing! At this point I knew by looking at thier faces that all the hard work and stress had been worth it. It’s a feeling I know they will always remember!
The games in day 1 were mixed. Despite the long travel, staying up late for the Scotland game, high temperatures our boys gave it their all and every game bar one was very closely contested. Funnily the game we got beaten comfortably was the team who became our biggest fans - JSG Delmenhorst. Watching all of our games and cheering us on, high fiving our boys around the camp site, it was truly something to see how a match so one sided created the best friendship at the festival. Another example of football bringing people together!
Sunday was a bit less full on. Less games and grouped with teams of similar levels to our own. Highlight was a 6-0 win against one of the host teams. Unfortunately we lost our last game which would have sent us home on a high but then we found out our goalkeeper Brodie managed to win goalie of the tournament. 🎉 Huge well done to him, he’s continuously improved since joining us and very happy for him. Although we didn’t get to take the big trophy home, we did get a weekend of new friends, experiences and memories.
Thanks to all the parents who came along for the trip, I hope you all enjoyed it as much as I did. 👌🏽
Thanks to Jonathan for co driving, it was a fair slog but we managed. 🤣
Thanks to Anna, Chris and TSV Abbehausen for presenting us this opportunity and for helping us throughout!
Thanks to our coaches Simon and Becky for helping make this a successful weekend.
Let’s see where the next trip takes us!
And finally the biggest shout outs go to the sponsors who we wouldn’t have been able to attend without your help. All of us at Kemnay 2015s will forever be greatful for helping deliver this amazing trip that was always about more than just football!
Casa MALC - Caravan Hire
MB Plant Vehicle, Plant and Access Hire
William Walker Transport
Dunbar Events and Marketing Limited
James Milne Chartered Accountants
Donview Veterinary Centre
Souter Window Cleaning
The Rock Room Music Studio
Pizza Box - Scotland
Malcolm Allan
Monymusk Thrift Shop Bothy
Kemnay Bargain Box
Kemnay, Kintore and Blackburn Rotary Club
Challenge products
Tesco Inverurie
Costco Westhill
Hudsons Catering
Kenny O’Neill Ltd
Plus the 4 sponsors who want to remain anonymous
* Facebook won’t let me tag all pages, but will tag in the comments.