The Manchester Metros have been invited by the UTB Hockey Team to Zlin, Czech Republic to play them in an international friendly on March 7th. The Metros gladly accepted the challenge and will be en-route to Zlin via Prague on March 6th. Zlin is loctated 3 hours Southeast of the capital, Prague, nearest to the Slovakian border.
The team will spend their time in Zlin in student accommodations, all paid for by sponsors organized by UTB. It seems we will be treated like royalty as the Rector of the Tomas Bata University has planned a time to meet us. Not only will we be meeting him, but the Mayor has also set aside time to welcome us to his city. As a record, the first written recording in Zlin dates back to 1322, but Zlin officially became a town in 1397.
The match will take place on March 7th at 20:00 (GMT +1). The Manchester Metros and UTB Hockey Team face off at Zimní stadion Luďka Čajky, which has a capacity of 7,500 and is nestled amongst the foothills of Zlin. This will not be the first international friendly UTB has had. They have already welcome the University of Vienna in December 2011. UTB won that meeting 5-0. Win or lose, the Metros will arrive at the arena hungry, and ready to play a competitive game.
I have been in close contact with the organizer, Michal (via email), to help set up this international meeting between Manchester and Zlin. I can definitely speak for the Manchester Metros organization when I say, we are more than excited to have this opportunity to travel to Zlin to face off against UTB Hockey Team.
It will be a true honor to be their guests come March 6th!
Lastly, I have been asked by Michal to write a formal press release for the match that will be published in Zlin's newspapers and online. I look forward to having my writing be put in the newspapers/online as it is my life goal to be a journalist and this is an excellent opportunity to start a portfolio for my career.
