On Easter Sunday, April 23, the Southend Borough Combination will be staging their 32nd international tournament - 26 of which have been held at Easter - at their Eastwoodbury Lane headquarters.

Taking part will be seven Combination teams and one touring German side. At the request of clubs, the opportunity is being given for teams from the lower divisions to take part.

The German team Ahldorf-Muhlen are first time visitors although a club with a similar name, Muhlen, came to Southend in 1980 and finished 14th out of 16, losing 3-1 to Progress Rovers in the play-off place.

That was in the 15th Easter Tournament and the team visiting this year is an amalgamation of two clubs, Ahldorf and Muhlen, both of whom come from the Stuttgart area (Black Forest) near Horb am Neckar.

Both villages have a population of about 1,000 inhabitants.

Since 1973 they have come under the administration of Horb. Ahldorf was founded in 1920 and Muhlen the following year.

In 1975 the youth teams amalgamated and, in 1999, it was decided that the adults clubs should follow suit.

The German FA decided that they must reform as Spiel Gemeinschaft (SG) Ahldorf-Muhlen and therefore this is their first trip as a "new" club.

They have a full programme. Arriving on Good Friday, they have a reception with the Mayor of Southend at Porters and, on the Saturday, go to Upton Park to see West Ham play Coventry.

Following Sunday's tournament, the Combination will host a dinner for them at the Eastwoodbury Lane clubhouse and, on Easter Monday, they will spend a day in London sightseeing before travelling home the next day.

Their opening game, with Melchester Rovers, will be kicked off at 10.30am by the Deputy Mayor of Southend Graham Longley.

These two clubs are in Section B along with Cupids Country Club and Kingsfield Casuals. In Section A are Battlesbridge, International PMS, Shoebury Old Boys and Southend Collegians.

After group matches throughout the day, play-off matches start at 2.30pm with the final clash between the two group winners getting underway at 3.15pm.

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