January 14, 2011
The curtain will finally come down on the Post Primary Schools Futsal calendar on Tuesday next, January 18 with a tantalizing All Ireland show-down in store for all to see. The event will take place in the impressive Gormanston College, Meath.
Boys and girls of all sporting abilities will be hoping to emulate the talents of former players such as Lionel Messi, Zico, Juninio, Kaka and Ronaldo.
Futsal is said to be the world’s most played small sided sport with 25 million participants. The game is praised for the number of star footballers it has nurtured over the years. Therefore it’s not surprising to hear that Brazil is estimated to have more futsal players than football players. The two disciplines complement each another brilliantly.
These legends of the football world have inspired youngsters to get involved and in doing so have increased the profile of futsal on an International scale.
Futsal is the official indoor version of “the beautiful game”. It’s a fantastic way for young players to develop and improve their football abilities in a highly paced environment. The nature of the game creates an emphasis on improvisation, creativity, technique as well as ball control and passing in confined spaces.
The competition now in its third year has grown steadily with participation at an all time high. The competition caters for boys and girls in first year. Competitions commenced in October with schools progressing from County, Regional and Provincial levels to the All Ireland series.
As part of the FAI Schools development programme, futsal is used as a way of introducing youngsters to the game of football and thus increasing grassroots participation within the sport.
Over 7,000 students have taken part in the FAI Schools futsal Initiative inside a three month period in Primary & Post Primary Schools throughout Ireland.
Tom Bolger, Chairman, FAI Schools paid tribute to the enormous contribution of the FAI’s Regional Development Officers in overseeing the competitions at local level.
“The growth of the game within the schools structure can be attributed to the hard work being done at local level by the Development Officers as they play a vital role in the success of the initiative each year”.
The climax of the Post Primary School’s event will see the cream of schools futsal on display in Gormanston next week.
The focus will be on our local talent with eight schools competing for the coveted title of All Ireland Post Primary Schools Futsal Champions.
Schools from Meath, Mayo, Cork and Donegal will contest the Girls Section while Kildare, Mayo, Limerick and Monaghan will all challenge for the crown in the Boys Section.
The four girls Provincial finalists have created great excitement in their respective schools with their progression to the National stage. Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Christ King Girls’ Secondary School, Davitt College, Castlebar and Moville Community College are all within striking distance of the silverware.
These schools are no strangers to schools football with Christ King Girls winning the Senior Girls All Ireland title last season. The youngsters all in first year of education will be aspiring to the success of their senior counterparts in this fun filled event.
Moville had a number of players participating in last month’s Interprovincial series and were crowned Minor Girls All Ireland Champs and Junior Girls All Ireland runners up last season. Definitively a formidable feat for the Moville students who have plenty of skill to display
Eureka Kells defeated the reigning All Ireland Champions of two years ago, Moyne Community School in their respective Provincial Final this year so they will be one to watch out for going forward. Eureka’s teacher Leonard Noone was delighted with the girl’s performance in the Leinster Finals, stating, “We are very impressed and happy with the girls. The group have shown a great desire and spirit to win this competition and we are delighted. It is a great competition and a great addition to our excellent schools record in the 11-a-side-game.”
Also Davitt College are returning for a second consecutive All Ireland appearance. The Castlebar School narrowly missed out on a place in the final last year solely on goal difference but stole the show with a stunning performance in their third and fourth place play-off against Cavan’s Bailieborough to claim third spot on the podium. Davitt College will be looking to improve on their performance of last season and go one further this time around.
The boys draw will be a closely fought encounter with Confey Community College, Leixlip, Crescent College Comprehensive, St. Mureduch’s College, Ballina and Patrician High School, Carrickmacross all bidding for glory.
Confey Community College defeated St. Peter’s College, Dunboyne in their provincial final to progress to this level. It was some achievement given that the Dunboyne School were reigning Leinster champs from last season and had impressed throughout the day. The Leixlip School has prepared well for this stage and will be hoping to go all the way in their first appearance at this level.
Likewise, Connacht stars St. Mureduch’s defeated last year’s provincial champions Scoil Mhuire, Roscommon to make the prestigious grade to All Ireland level. The Ballina School will be well up for the challenges that face them from the other provincial qualifiers.
Reigning All Ireland boy’s champions, Limerick CBS and girl’s legends Loreto Kilkenny didn’t progress from their respective County Finals to defend their titles this year so it’s all to play for in both divisions.
Crescent Comprehensive will be making their debut at the event but teacher Diarmuid Mullins won’t be overwhelmed by this. The Limerick lads have a great team spirit which will act as a sixth player on the pitch for the earlier stages and nerves won’t be playing a part in proceedings.
Patrician High School will not only represent Monaghan but Ulster in this event. The School are relatively new to futsal and are relishing the opportunity to compete on the big stage.
Gerard Dunne, FAI National Co-ordinator for Schools, Colleges & Universities will oversee proceedings on the day and is very excited by the fixtures on display.
"Futsal is the way we see football being taken forward in the country and from what I have seen at Provincial finals nationwide and in Dublin, it is very encouraging,"
"Players like Fernando Torres have been brought up from a background of playing futsal and it can be a benefit to our young players."
The competition has proven to be very successful at local level and this is evident with the huge numbers of entrants and the sheer quality of futsal being demonstrated. The competition has caught the imagination of everybody involved and should prove highly entertaining for the travelling supporters when the games commence...
For further information on the event or images of participating schools please contact Diane Fay, FAI Schools on 01 8999 522.
FAI Post Primary Schools All Ireland Futsal Finals
Gormanston College, Meath
Tuesday, January 18 (11:30am-2:30pm)
List of participating Schools:
Leinster (Boys) Confey Community College, Leixlip, Kildare
Teacher: Paddy O’Connor
Panel: Andrew Doolin, Conor Murphy, Shane Fitzpatrick, Steven Reynolds, Peter Burke, Dean Malone, Fikayo Agboola, Ahmed Shariff Noor, Brian Whelan, Jarick Townsend, Jamie Aherne, Alex Meakin.
Leinster (Girls) Eureka Secondary School, Kells, Meath
Teacher: Leonard Noone
Panel: Sarah Gilson, Megan Foley, Niamh O’Keefe, Hannah Quinn, Amy Smith, Aoife McKeever, Edith Lynch, Kara O’Rourke, Shianne Suarez, Catherine Dolan, Laura Keoghan.
Ulster (Boys) Patrician High School, Carrickmacross, Monaghan
Teacher: Colm McEneaney
Ulster (Girls) Moville Community College, Donegal
Teacher: Noreen Meehan & Seamus Gallagher
Munster (Boys) Crescent College Comprehensive, Limerick
Teacher: Diarmuid Mullins
Munster (Girls) Christ King Girls’ Secondary School, Cork
Teachers: Feargal O’Leary
Connacht (Boys) St. Mureduch’s College, Ballina, Mayo
Teacher: Brian Lacey
Connacht (Girls) Davitt College, Springfield, Castlebar, Mayo
Teacher: Sinead Flynn
BOYS FIXTURES: (16 min games with rest period between matches)
Group Stages
11:30 Pitch 1 Confey CC v Patrician
11:30 Pitch 2 Crescent Comp v St. Muredach’s
12:10 Pitch 1 Confey CC v Crescent Comp
12:10 Pitch 2 Patrician v St. Muredach’s
12:40 Pitch 1 Confey CC v St. Muredach’s
12:40 Pitch 2 Patrician v Patrician
1:15 Pitch 2 Third & Fourth Place Play Off
1:40 Pitch 2 FINAL
GIRLS FIXTURES: (16 min games with rest period between matches)
Group Stages
11:30 Pitch 3 Eureka SS v Moville CC
11:30 Pitch 4 Christ King v Davitt College
12:10 Pitch 3 Eureka SS v Christ King
12:10 Pitch 4 Moville CC v Davitt College
12:40 Pitch 3 Eureka SS v Davitt College
12:40 Pitch 4 Christ King v Moville CC
1:15 Pitch 3 Third & Fourth Place Play Off
1:40 Pitch 3 FINAL
Photographs of participating schools are available upon request
END