IFA Grassroots Award for Omagh Futsal Club

Omagh Futsal Club was awarded the ‘Futsal Award’ at the recent McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards for 2022, held at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park.

The annual McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards, which celebrate 20 years in Northern Ireland this year, recognise the inspirational commitment and hard work of football clubs and volunteers who give up their time and make a long-lasting impact on young people and communities across Northern Ireland.

Hosted by sports journalist and broadcaster Claire McCollum, the ceremony featured interviews with McDonald’s ambassadors and football legends Sir Geoff Hurst and Pat Jennings, and Kenny Shiels, manager of the Northern Ireland Women’s National Football Team.

A form of small-sided football, futsal can be played anywhere at a recreational level. This ‘Futsal Award’ celebrates an individual or club that has championed the introduction of futsal in their community.

Founded in 2017 by Chairman Martin Cassidy and Head Coach David Alonso, Omagh Futsal Club primarily uses the sport of futsal to promote fitness, advance education and promote social development within the Fermanagh and Omagh District.

The club runs a range of programmes, including disability futsal, girls only futsal, refugee integration futsal, over 35's, schools’ programmes, teenager programmes and local tournaments.

Collecting the award on behalf of the club, head coach David Alonso said: “It really is fantastic to be recognised in this way with this award and we are all very proud.

"We hope that this will help us to increase awareness of the benefits of futsal for young people within our own community, and in communities right across Northern Ireland.”

Highlighting the importance of local grassroots football, chairman Martin Cassidy said: “In any sport like futsal it is essential to have a grassroots offering for young people– they are the foundation and the future of the game, we are getting young people involved in futsal at the earliest stage, in a safe, inclusive and fun environment.

"We see first-hand the enjoyment that they get out of the game every week as they develop both their skills, and new friendships.”

McDonald’s Fun Football ambassador Pat Jennings said the Awards provide an important opportunity to celebrate the fantastic work that takes place at all levels of the grassroots game in Northern Ireland.

He said: “Congratulations to Omagh Futsal Club for their very well deserved award, and indeed to all our regional and national award nominees and the winners, who all work tirelessly in the background at their clubs to keep the local grassroots game alive.

“Each year when the Awards come around, I am humbled and inspired by the dedication, passion and enthusiasm of our grassroots volunteers and by the tremendous impact they have on the lives of children and young people right across Northern Ireland.”

In 2021 McDonald’s celebrated the huge milestone of having provided five million hours of free Fun Football to children in the UK – with more than 75,000 children across Northern Ireland having benefited from 250,000 hours of coaching, games and fun. More recently, McDonald’s launched its new Fun Football programme, which will provide over one million five to 11-year-olds with the opportunity to enjoy free football coaching across the UK.

The new 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. In addition to the Irish FA in Northern Ireland, the programme will be delivered in collaboration with the Scottish FA, The Football Association of Wales and a network of national coaching providers in England.