Leeds United hero handed official role at tournament he graced four times

The Northern Ireland international, who has been forced to call time on his playing days through the damage sustained in an April 2022 injury, is due to open SuperCupNI 2024, the youth competition formerly known as the Milk Cup.

Both Dallas and Leeds have history with the tournament, which will begin in Coleraine, Northern Ireland, on Sunday July 21. He represented County Tyrone in four consecutive tournaments between 2005 and 2008 en route to a career that took him from the Irish League to the Premier League. Leeds United won the Premier Under 16 section back in 2002 with a side that included James Milner, Scott Carson, Sean McDaid, Martin Woods, Andy Keogh, Barry Corr and current Whites first team physio Henry McStay.

Dallas will lead the 66 teams competing in this year’s tournament through the streets of Coleraine before officially declaring the competition open, at the Coleraine Showgrounds SuperCupNI chairperson Victor Leonard said the organisers were delighted when the 2019/20 Championship title winner agreed to perform the official duties. He said: “Stuart’s journey as a footballer is one which we believe will resonate with so many of the young people participating in the tournament this summer. He shone in the domestic game locally with Coagh United and Crusaders, before making the well-deserved move to England and you could see from the reaction of Stuart’s announcement that he was having to retire due to injury, just how well respected he is in the game. Stuart has been very fulsome in his praise for the tournament, and I know he has very fond memories of his time playing with County Tyrone.”