Westmeath will become the centre of Irish football next week when the Football Association of Ireland hosts its week-long Festival of Football and Annual General Meeting in the county.
The six day event, which will run from Monday, July 21 until Saturday, July 26, will feature a wide range of football-related events culminating in the FAI’s 93nd Annual General Meeting in Athlone’s Radisson Blu Hotel on Saturday.
A key part of the week will be the club visits with the FAI delegation, led by President Paddy McCaul and Chief Executive John Delaney, planning to visit 21 clubs across the county as well as Costume Barracks and Athlone Institute of Technology. There will also be a Civic Reception from Westmeath Co Council on Thursday, July 24.
Republic of Ireland Senior Team Manager Martin O’Neill will also drop in to the county during the week and will be present at the inaugural Republic of Ireland Soccer Supporters Clubs Confe-rence in Mullingar on July 23 at which RISSC representatives from around the world will be in attendance.
EVENTS AROUND THE COUNTY
Other events planned include four football fun days in Kilbeggan, Castlepollard, Athlone and Mullingar which are open to everybody and offer a unique opportunity to test skills in a fun environment. There is also a week-long eFlow FAI Summer Soccer School at Mullingar Athletic Football Club, a Soccer Sisters Camp at Monksland FC and coaching workshops in Athlone IT.
On Tuesday, July 22, there will be an exhibition match at Costume Barracks in Athlone featuring a Defence Forces Selection against the Irish Amputee Football Asso-ciation’s intern-ational team which is currently preparing for their first World Cup in Mexico in December. The IAFA have developed adapted rules, which able bodied teams they play adhere to, allowing the games to be very competitive.
On Wednesday, July 23, there will be a FIFA Live Your Goals Festival of Football aimed at girls of all ages. This will take place in Burgess Park, Golden Island, Athlone, from 2pm to 5pm and will run alongside the Football Fun Day at the same venue. It is open to clubs, groups and/or individuals. Those wishing to participate should register their interest by emailing emma.martin@fai.ie no later than Thursday, July 17.
As well as lifting the profile of football within the county, the FAI will also make equipment, funds, match tickets and services available to clubs in Westmeath under a special Club Support Programme, worth up to €100,000, to mark the county’s hosting of the 2014 Annual General Meeting.
Around 250 delegates, representing every league and divisional association in Ireland, will attend the AGM and are due to arrive in Westmeath on Friday, July 25, ahead of the Delegates’ Dinner in the Radisson Blu Hotel, Athlone, at which the FAI will announce the Aviva Club of the Year as well as presenting the John Sherlock Service to Football Awards, the Noel O’Reilly Coach of the Year, the Jeremy Dee Services to Women’s Football Award and the FAI Comm-unications Awards. There will also be golf for delegates at Glasson and a tour to Kilbeggan Distillery earlier in the day.
2014 AGM
The 2014 AGM will take place on Saturday, July 26 and will mark the end of FAI President Paddy McCaul’s four year term of office.
“It has been a great honour to have held this position during a period of great achievement as we started life in the Aviva Stadium, the new home for Irish soccer, qualified for Euro 2012 and began work on the National Training Centre at our headqu-arters in Abbotstown. The appointment last Nov-ember of Martin O’Neill as senior international team, with Roy Keane as his assistant, has also generated a lot of positivity,” said McCaul.
The Athlone man is looking forward to welcoming members of the football family from all over Ireland to Westmeath.
“Our delegates are looking forward to coming to the heart of Ireland and I know they will receive a warm Westmeath welc-ome when they arrive. Westmeath has strong football roots. Athlone Town Football Club is one of the oldest clubs in the country, the Combined Counties Football League is one of the biggest leagues while the Athlone District Schoolboys League and the Midland Schoolboys League are two of the most progressive underage leagues in Ireland.”
According to John Delaney, the format of having a Festival of Football linked to the Annual General Meeting has been a winner for the FAI.
“Since 2007 we have used the FAI AGM as an opportunity to showcase football in the host county through the addition of a week-long Festival of Football. So far we have had Festivals of Football in Kerry, Mayo, Monaghan, Wexford, Clare, Donegal and Wicklow and the format has proved to be very successful. During the week we will take the FAI all over the county and I am delighted that the clubs and leagues in Westmeath have embraced this idea enthusiastically while we have also received great support from Westmeath County Council,” said Delaney.
“We are looking forward to the week and the opportunity to visit the clubs and meet the volunteers who do such great work in promoting, fostering and developing our game at grassroots level. It’s a unique opportunity to hear and see what they do and learn about their plans and hopes for the future,” added Delaney.
