Showcase Beyond the Ball cross-border football tournament lights up Drogheda United's United Park Stadium
On Tuesday, 19th August, 70 young people involved in our 'Beyond the Ball' programme with the International Fund for Ireland gathered for an unforgettable football tournament and accredited training.
The five-a-side competition, which saw teams enter from Sligo, Drogheda, Omagh, Belfast and Enniskillen, was a final footballing showcase for the Rio Ferdinand Foundation and International Fund for Ireland's successful two-year Beyond the Ball programme.
Hosted at the home of Drogheda United Football Club, United Park, a venue fitting for the occasion, the teams competed to be crowned the champions, while also completing a Level 1 Self-Confidence accreditation to further expand their personal development.
The Beyond the Ball project, which was established in 2023, focuses on and empowers social mobility by creating opportunities at the grassroots for young people aged 14-18 to participate in weekly sports sessions, training, and leadership qualifications.
Since the successful launch in March, 2023, the community engagement programme has helped progress and develop the skills of almost 1000 young people from across the island of Ireland and Northern Ireland, providing them with core skills to help build confidence, interpersonal skills, and develop pathways to employability.
Speaking about the event, the Rio Ferdinand Foundation Programme Coordinator, Dan Gorman, said:
“As this is our last football tournament of our International Fund For Ireland Beyond the Ball programme, it’s a celebration of our work over the last few years.
It’s great to be at Drogheda United for this one, as we have now played in all the areas we’re working in. These young people have shown amazing commitment to this programme, travelling long distances to be at these tournaments, and it is a credit to them.
Today is gonna be a massive celebration for the effort they have put in, and it’s another chance for them all to meet up and keep the friendships they have built on a cross-border basis.
We are extremely thankful to the International Fund for Ireland for funding this project and giving these young people countless opportunities.”
The tournament follows on from a hugely successful three-day trip to London, which provided many of the young people in attendance on Tuesday the chance to enjoy a unique overseas opportunity, providing them with community connection, skills development and cultural enrichment.
Speaking about the Beyond the Programme, Rio Ferdinand Foundation CEO Gary Stannett said:
“The Rio Ferdinand Foundation has built a number of fantastic partnerships over the past 2 years as part of the Beyond the Ball programme, and the partnership with Drogheda United this year not only expanded those networks but is a testament to the breadth and depth of the club’s involvement with its local community. It’s fitting that this final tournament of this cycle of delivery is hosted at the club.
The tournaments and training we have delivered to over 1,000 young people from Derry to Drogheda and Sligo to Belfast, by way of Leitrim, Fermanagh and Tyrone, has been nothing short of incredible in terms of energy, excitement and impact.
Although its sad to see this tournament as the final part of our partnership with the International Fund for Ireland as the Beyond The Ball programme comes to an end of this cycle of delivery, those partnerships, relationships and investments in young people will continue in a future format as we continue to invest in communities and the undoubted talents and abilities of young people on this Island.”
The programme is set to conclude in Omagh later this month, as the young people from diverse regions, including Belfast, Derry, Sligo, Enniskillen, Omagh, and Louth, reconnect to engage in discussion on community leadership, employability, and social mobility, as they look to reimagine their society.
