A WEST Belfast councillor has hailed the success of a new night-time football initiative aimed at providing a safe place for young people at the weekend.
Kids from across the Colin area turned up at the floodlight-lit 3G pitch in White Rise on Friday for the first night of the Lagmore Youth Project's drop-in football event.
The free initiative is open to young people of all ages, but has a particular focus on those who may not be involved in traditional youth services.
It aims to provide diversionary activities for young people, including those at risk of engaging in antisocial behaviour.
Sinn Féin Councillor and Lagmore Youth Project volunteer, Danny Baker, described the first night of drop-in football as "brilliant".
"We ended up with around 33 kids from all different age groups throughout the two hours, so we were able to have two matches on the go," he said.
"It was really good – the kids loved it.
"At 9 o'clock when they were all burnt out the younger ones left for bed, and then the older ones sat on after their match. It was somewhere for them to sit, under the lights, it was dry – it was brilliant. It's about creating spaces for kids to have somewhere to go and feel safe.
"If this keeps up with the numbers we had then we'll look to structure it with coaches and invite people in. We'll see how it goes, but at this stage it's a nice wee drop-in. There's no pressure to play a football match if you don't want to. If you want to take a ball and practice shots, or do penalties – do whatever you want to do. If you want to join in a match you can just join in.
"There were a couple of parents who actually stayed and kicked the ball about. That interaction with other members of the community is great."
Tanya Smith, Daniel Baker and Conor Baker at Lagmore Youth Project's drop-in football event
Cllr Baker, who helped spearhead the initiative, said the community will look to expand the initiative throughout the Colin area, including to the new pitches at Brook Leisure Centre.
"This is something that we'd like to see progress, and this should be the start of it; proving the need, and then building on it," he said.
"If you opened up the cages at Brook on a Friday night kids would have somewhere to play football, some of them might just want to hang out. It's would be somewhere safe for them to hang out with their friends, particularly if they don't want to be outside a youth club."
