MANXMEN PUT ON A SUMMER SHOW FOR FANS TO SAVOUR

THE Isle of Man is known for many things: TT Races, tailless cats, tax arrangements, that three-legged symbol, and – as this reporter learned the hard way – feral wallabies.

- STEVE HILL

What it’s not immediately known for is football, although this is changing with the recently formed FC Isle Of Man now occupying a place in the English football pyramid. A further flag was planted on the football map last weekend with the inaugural Summer Festival of Football, an invitational event hosted in the capital city of Douglas.

The island does actually have a tradition of pre-season football in the form of The Manx Cup, which later gave way to the Steam Packet Tournament. It’s the latter event that the club were hoping to evoke with this new format, as FC Isle Of Man director Lee Dixon (who played in it) explains to The NLP.