Ledbury Swifts returned from our twin town Stromstad in Sweden last week after completing their seventh annual tour of the area. Chairman of the Swifts. Steve Onions, described the tour as "very successful and an enjoyable place to go," but added that "the results didn't do justice to the performances."

Below are some photographs of the tour sent over from Sweden. Unfortuneately, they were only accompanied with Swedish text, which I've edited out.

The Robert's Cup tournament is competed by 8 teams - 5 from Sweden, 2 from Denmark and the Ledbury Swifts. The trip is funded by sponsorship and fundraising and by the individuals themselves.

I spoke to a some of the players who described their 1-0 semi final defeat to IFK Stromstad. Their opponents failed to have a single shot on the Swifts goal; their solitary goal being scored from a deflected clearance by the Swifts goalkeeper, which bounced off the back of one of their own defenders. Playing without a linesman the referee gave a dubious offside decision, which cost the Swifts a goal. Their attacker had beat the last defender and ran on to score a goal, only for the referee to blow for offside once the ball was firmly in the back of the net.

I asked the players about other aspects of the trip. They enjoyed their accomodation staying in log cabins at the actual football grounds. Food, they told me, was a bit expensive, so they dined on burgers, pizzas and kebabs. They trained each morning and then spent their free time exploring the town, talking to the locals and going swimming. They told me communication wasn't a problem as most Swedes spoke good English.

On football differences the Swifts told me that the Swedes played less physically than them and that they played more of a passing game. They were also impressed with their clinical finishing abilities.

Rather than a pre-season tour, the annual visit to Stromstad acts as an end of season celebration for the senior Swifts, who will now go on in the new season to stake their claim for places with the Under 18 side at the Ledbury Town Football Club, playing evening floodlit football. Steve Onions told me the tour was the climax to the Swifts progression and that all the 280 or so members (from 5-18 years of age, boys and girls) looked forward to when they would be able to take part in the tour themselves.

I would like to thank Steve Onions, the management team and the Swifts players for this interview and the photographs provided.