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Glentoran Disability FC win prestigious UEFA award

Tue, 24/09/2019 - 22:09

(Left to right: Mark Smith, Jordan Wray, Alan Crooks and Stephen Lowry)

The executive committee of European football’s governing body has chosen Glentoran Disability FC as a silver prize winner in its annual Grassroots Awards.

Irish FA Foundation Disability Officer Alan Crooks, Michael Boyd and Keith Gibson of the IFA visited the Oval, where Alan presented GDFC managers Jordan Wray and Mark Smith and Academy Development Manager Stephen Lowry with the UEFA certificate for Best Disability Initiative.  The award is given to “an outstanding grassroots football project for people with disabilities”.  The executive committee said the Glens were “a deserving winner” of the silver award. The club also received 100 footballs to support its grassroots activities.

Glentoran established a Disability Football Section in 2016. This section is for males and females with a learning and/or physical disability who would find it difficult to play the traditional 11-a-side game in mainstream football. At the beginning numbers were quite limited but the staff and players did a lot of outreach work in the local community within special education and with disability organisations. Fast forward to 2019 and the Glentoran Disability Section is seen as a model of best practice for Inclusive Clubs in Northern Ireland. With over 70 players registered, the club operates two sections. The Junior Section is for ages 7 to 14 and the Senior Section is for ages 15 and over. Each section meets twice a week for an hour-long session. The 8 staff involved have all qualified through Irish FA Level 1 Coaching Disabled Footballers Award and they are also minimum IFA Level 1 qualified. They have 2 x 5-a-side Junior teams playing in the IFA Junior Disability Cup Programmes and 3 x 5-a-side Senior teams playing in the IFA Disability League. They also participate in the George Best Community Cup and have won on several occasions in many of the 4 ability bands.

Michael Boyd, Mark Smith, Jordan Wray, Alan Crooks, Stephen Lowry and Keith Gibson

The IFA nomination of GDFC said: “Glentoran Disability FC has been nominated as they truly are a main strand of the Glentoran Academy and this is the best example of an inclusive club in Northern Ireland. The players are part of the fabric of the club. Boys and Girls of all ages and abilities are part of their local club and have the same pride in wearing the famous green, red and black as the first team. They are providing a regular structured participation programme to an under-represented group and giving the avenue for physical activity and social inclusion in an area of need. They provide pathways into competition for all abilities and they also support their talented players as they progress into representative disability programmes run by the Irish FA Foundation. Their staff are qualified, experienced and dedicated to providing for their whole community and their nomination is a worthy one”.

Jordan Wray, GDFC Seniors Head Coach said: “I am extremely honoured to receive this award, it is absolutely fantastic to see how far the Senior Disability section has come over the years and it is developing even further. It has been such a privilege coaching each and every player over the years and seeing their passion for the game in each training session and match. It’s incredible knowing that we are making an impact in each of their lives just by giving them an inclusive environment where they feel comfortable to play the sport that they love despite their disability”

Mark Smith, GDFC Juniors Head Coach: “It is a privilege to receive this award and I am grateful for the opportunity Glentoran Academy and Club have given me to grow and develop the junior disability squad into what it is now a successful  growing set of players  who train, develop, play and improve week in week out. I love what I do and working with the kids who always give their all is a real joy”

Stephen Lowry, Glentoran Academy Manager, said of the award winners: “Having been involved way back in the beginning when we amalgamated Belvoir Blades Disability group into our club to become Glentoran Disability FC, it has been a real joy watching our Disability section grow over the years into the success it is today. From its humble beginnings we now have around 60 disability players with approximately 25 of those being juniors under the guidance of head coach Mark Smith and the rest seniors under Jordan Wray’s leadership. All players receive regular weekly training sessions and enter into IFA games programmes. Alan Crooks of the IFA provides a great support network and all our coaches and players are fully engaged and enjoying the game. I would like to give special thanks to all the coaching staff involved in the GDFC section but in particular to Mark and Jordan as without the 2 guys commitment and wonderful voluntary service it just wouldn’t be possible. It’s guys like this who help the club win these prestigious awards such as this UEFA award and the Queens Award won recently”

These awards are very rare which highlights the fantastic work being done by our voluntary coaches and in particular Jordan and Mark. Massive well done also to all the GDFC players and their parents without whom none of it would be possible. Their weekly dedication and commitment to training and games is exemplary.

Mark and Jordan receive the award from Alan Crooks (IFA)