Ruud Gullit to fly in for eircom FAI International Soccer Awards
The Football Association of Ireland today (Thursday) confirmed that former Netherlands international player, Ruud Gullit will be present at the 19th annual eircom FAI International Soccer Awards which take place this Sunday (8th February) at the Citywest hotel, Dublin.
The awards will be broadcast live from 8pm on RTÉ Two television and streamed live on RTÉ.ie.
Captain of the 1988 UEFA European Championship winning Dutch side and twice named world football player of the year, Ruud Gullit will be present on the night to accept the eircom FAI international personality award for 2009.
Ruud will be joined on the night by all of the stars of the Republic of Ireland senior squad who are set to face Georgia on February 11th in the FIFA World Cup, group 8 qualifier in Croke Park.
18 awards will be presented on the night, including the FAI Schools Player of the Year. Those nominated include the versatile Sean Houston, sharp shooter John Mulroy and hard working Peter Acheson.
Peter Acheson
The Republic of Ireland Schools team has enjoyed a constant period of growth and success over the last number of years with notable achievements in capturing the Celtic Cup and Centenary Shield in 2008. Rockwell College student, Peter played a pivotal role at centre half to ensure this recent success.
Acheson plays his club football with Clonmel Town and has numerous U16 and U17 club titles to his credit. He also has an U16 and Minor All Ireland Championship medal with Tipperary Hurling team.
Sean Houston
Letterkenny native, Houston plays for St. Eunan’s College. He has featured for the for FAI Schools International Team for the past two seasons and has had a marvellous year as he guided the Republic of Ireland Under 18 International Schools team to success after beating Wales, Northern Ireland and England while drawing 2-2 with Scotland.
Sean played an integral part in the Centenary Shield victory with his versatility in defense or midfield. Sean plays his club football with Fanad United, picking up an U18 Youth treble title with the club.
John Mulroy
John attends Moyle Park College in Clondalkin. The 18 year old has extraordinary vision, skill and work rate and this was evident throughout last season. The striker had an exceptional outing with FAI Schools, scoring in every competitive fixture, most notably their 1-0 win against England at the Stadium of Light.
John is a keen sportsman and enjoys golf, skiing and soccer while supporting Tottenham Hotspurs.
John plays his club football with Bray Wanderers and made a scoring debut last season, thus became the youngest player to score for the club.