Football: Ayre United & Rushen United to face off for charity shield

Premier league champions face FA Cup winners ahead of new league season

The traditional 'curtain raiser' ahead of the new Manx football season takes place later as Ayre United and Rushen United face off for the Eric Fletcher Charity Shield.

Ayre United - last season's men's premier league champions - come up against a Rushen side who claimed the 2024 FA Cup by beaten their northern opponents in penalties back in March.

Tonight's contest takes place at The Bowl in Douglas, kicking-off at 7.45pm - admission will be £3 for adults and £1 for OAP's and under-16's.

Coming into this Ayre United have won the top flight in two of the last three campaigns - player/manager Nick Hurt admits it's been a challenging run-up to the new season so far but believes things will start falling into place:

Elsewhere, despite their cup success in 2023/24, Rushen United had an indifferent league season finishing sixth on 35 points which was 32 points adrift from the total of their opposition this evening.

Rushen's first team manager Andrew Moody initially left the club at the end of last season before returning to take the helm again.

Also speaking to Manx Radio, Mr Moody says he's been pleased with recent training and preparations and also explains why he came back into the role of head coach: