Attempts by former SuperCupNI winners Right to Dream to reclaim their title have failed after the Ghanaian side were banned over visa issues.
The African Football Academy has been a regular at the North Coast Youth Tournament for almost a decade. In 2017, they beat Mexican club America 2-1 in the premier section final.
Fortunately, the organizers were able to find a replacement for the English team “Ipswich Town”, which entered the breach.
The Portman Road side is now managed by Fermanagh man Kieran McKenna.
SuperCupNI Chairman Victor Leonard said: “Earlier this week we were delighted to receive confirmation that Ipswich Town have replaced Right to Dream in the Premier Division. Ipswich manager Kieran McKenna is a strong supporter of the competition and we were delighted to receive such a quick response.
“Kieran actually played for County Fermanagh back in 2002 as a player and then in 2018 Kieran coached Manchester United U18s in a challenge match in Colrain against Scottish giants Celtic.
“We have welcomed some very talented teams from Ipswich Town in the past and we look forward to welcoming them back to Northern Ireland for the tournament.”
The 2022 event will be held from Sunday 24th July to Friday 29th July with the traditional parade and opening ceremony at the Coleraine Showgrounds starting at 7pm on Sunday evening and the tournament concluding with the final day of football on Friday.
This is the first time the tournament has been held in full since 2019 due to the Covid pandemic.
