THERE was double South Belfast success at the 2023 McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards.
Rosario FC has been announced as a regional winner of the ‘Junior Club of the Year’ category, while Ameer Ibrahim, a local grassroots football volunteer from Multi-Ethnic Sports & Cultures NI (MSCNI) in the south of the city, has been named as a regional winner of the ‘Wes Gregg Coach of the Year’ category.
The annual McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards, which celebrate 23 years in Northern Ireland this year, recognise the unbelievable work and commitment of football clubs and volunteers who give up their time and make a long-lasting impact on young people and communities across Northern Ireland.
The national awards ceremony of the McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards is due to take place in November at Belfast City Hall.
The regional awards event was hosted recently at The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, where Northern Ireland legend and Fun Football Ambassador Pat Jennings presented the winners with their trophies.
“Without grassroots football volunteers none of this could happen,” said Jennings.
“Through the years I have witnessed first-hand the significant impact that McDonald’s Fun Football has had, and continues to have, on the lives of young people in Northern Ireland.
“It was fantastic to see McDonald’s recently announcing that 250,000 children from across the UK had benefitted from Fun Football in less than a year since the new programme launched.”
Ameer Ibrahim from MSCNI with Fun Football Ambassador Pat Jennings, McDonald’s Franchisee John McCollum
McDonald’s Franchisee John McCollum added: “McDonald’s is passionate about feeding and fostering communities and supporting local families, and our commitment to grassroots football is a great way for us to demonstrate that.
“The Grassroots Football Awards gives us a great opportunity to celebrate our local grassroots football heroes, who are the beating heart of the game we all love here in Northern Ireland. Congratulations to the winners.”
Last year, McDonald’s launched its new Fun Football programme, which will provide over one million 5–11-year-olds with the opportunity to enjoy free football coaching across the UK.
The programme will deliver over 10.5 million hours of Fun Football over the course of the next four years making it the largest grassroots participation programme in the UK.
The programme will be delivered in collaboration with the Irish FA, Scottish FA, The Football Association of Wales and a network of national coaching providers in England.
