Donegal footballer Damien Diver received the ideal pre-season boost today when he was called into the travelling party for the All Stars tour to Hong Kong. Last year's Donegal Footballer of the Year will line out in Saturday's exhibition game at the Hong Kong Football Club. Diver is a late replacement for the tour and will line out in the exhibition game in place of Tom Kelly from Laois. Kelly suffered a broken collar-bone last Sunday week in an O'Byrne Cup game and is unable to play. However, he will still travel with the party which leaves Dublin on Wednesday morning for the week long visit to Hong Kong. A total of 35 players, incorporating the 2003 and 2004 All Stars and replacements, will visit Hong Kong. The party will be led by the president of the GAA Sean Kelly, who will be joined by the two team managers Mickey Harte from Tyrone and John Maughan from Mayo. There is considerable media interest in the tour both in Ireland and in Asia and television pictures from the game will be beamed back to Ireland on Saturday. The game, the highlight of a packed programme of events at the Hong Kong Football Club on Saturday, starts at 10.00 am Irish time. The Hong Kong GAA Club, which has successfully promoted the Asian GAA Games, is the host for the visit. Gaelic football will not be the only sport on the agenda as the touring party will be guests at the Sha Tin racecourse on Sunday. Hong Kong is just the latest destination for the All Stars, tours in recent years visiting Dubai, Buenos Aires, San Diego, Phoenix and Los Angeles. There is considerable interest amongst cities around the world in hosting the next tour and details are expected to emerge about a possible destination in the coming weeks. The two teams of players travelling on Wednesday will be: - 2003 Vodafone All Stars Fergal Byron (Laois) Francie Bellew (Armagh) Enda McNulty (Armagh) Declan Meehan (Galway) Conor Gormley (Tyrone) William Kirby (Kerry) Damien Diver (Donegal) Sean Kavanagh (Tyrone) Padraig Clancy (Laois) Brian Dooher (Tyrone) Brian McGuiogan (Tyrone) Declan Browne (Tipperary) Steven McDonnell (Armagh) Peter Canavan (Tyrone) Adrian Sweeney (Donegal) Joe Higgins (Laois) Kevin Walsh (Galway) Philip Jordan (Tyrone) Tom Kelly (Laois) 2004 All Stars Diarmuid Murphy (Kerry) Tom O'Sullivan (Kerry) Barry Owens (Fermanagh) Ryan McMenamin (Tyrone) David Heaney (Mayo) James Nallen (Mayo) John Keane (Westmeath) Martin McGrath (Fermanagh) Ronan McGarrity (Mayo) Paul Galvin (Kerry) Ciaran McDonald (Mayo) Dessie Dolan (Westmeath) Colm Cooper (Kerry) Padraig Joyce (Galway) Matty Forde (Wexford) Enda Muldoon (Derry) Tweet

Most Read Stories