JERSEY captain Stuart André is gearing his squad for a weekend of tough, technical football as the team bids to win the very first Jersey Football Association International Tournament trophy – and raise the profile of Island football.

André (pictured) will lead the Island XI onto the pitch at Springfield tomorrow for their opening match against Island Games champions Gibraltar, and again on Sunday for their showdown with Madeira, and is confident that the players are fully fit and focused.

He said: ‘We’re really looking forward to this tournament. We haven’t been able to do much specific preparation, but we have played a lot of fixtures together this season, and we played Sunderland recently, so we are confident that the team will work well together.

‘I was at the Island Games last year but I didn’t play in the game against Gibraltar, although I think it’s going to be a tough game. I haven’t seen Madeira play before, but it’s always good to play against different teams. I don’t think the games will be as physical as the pre-season games we have been playing, but I think they will be very technical.’

Tournament fixtures:
Tonight: Gibraltar v Madeira (5.30 pm)
Tomorrow: Jersey v Gibraltar (4 pm)
Sunday: Madeira v Jersey (3 pm)