This article is from page 83 of the 2007-04-17 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 83 JPG
FAI chief executive John Delaney laid out the vision for underage soc- cer in Clare saying such programmes would a true reflection of the work carried out by the FAI. In his first visit as FAI supremo to Ennis Dela- ney officially kick started the proc- ess that will eventually see a full time County Development Officer appointed to Clare.
The officer will co-ordinate the development of soccer at grassroots level by working closely with clubs, schools, Ennis Town Council and Clare County Council.
Addressing league officials, play- ers, politicians and coaches Dela- ney outlined the vast level of work carried out by the sport’s govern- ing body. In total the FAI caters for 450,000 people a week. The number of coaches now stands at 17,500. By the end of 2007 it is anticipated that a 100 technical staff will bee in situ at the FAI’s new centre of excellence in Abbotstown.
He hailed the work being done by local volunteers as “extraordi-
nary’ and also heaped praise on the achievements of Clare’s Oscar Traynor team.
Speaking after wards Delaney ex- plained how the County Develop- ment Officer would lead to more fo- cused player development.
He said, “That individual will work with the club, the kids, schools devel- oping a mass participation level. The best players will come through at the top. Their role is very much based on getting participation and tackling anti-social issues like obesity, alco- hol abuse/ drug usage, getting girls active in the game. By doing that, the better players will come through always, but soccer in this country is not about the elite level, it’s about participation for everybody who lives TbO MO etemexelbbeL nm aes
Delaney has strong Clare connec- tions. His wife Emer is from Ennis. He counts Clare’s unforgettable All- Ireland win in 1995 as among his fa- vorite sporting moments.
“My wife is from Ennis. Her father was Paddy O’Dea, I think he played football for Clare. Her first cousins were Seamus and Colm Clancy who
won that famous game in 1992 when they won that Munster football final. Her aunty Kitty played in the Kil- fenora Ceili band. My father’s moth- er was a Darcy from Ennis. I used to spend two or three months of my summers in Kilkee. Every summer we’d go to Kilkee for maybe 16 or 17 years of my life. Probably one of my most memorable days outside of soccer would have been 1995 when Clare won the All-Ireland. I was there with Emer, her brothers and her mother and Dad. That was a fantas- tic day. In terms of a sporting occa- sion, to see Clare win an All-Ireland, I don’t think they’d won one since 1914. They’d won the Munster final in 1932 but got beaten by Kilkenny. I think when they won in 1914 Michael O’Hehir’s father was the manager”.
On qualification for the Euro- pean Championships the former St Michaels clubman was cautiously optimistic. He believes the public must be patient.
“You must remember we were a fourth seed going into the group so that means you should finish fourth de facto. That’s not what we are aim-
ing to do. I think everybody should realize we are in transition from where we were. Some of the older players have retired since 2002. I’m very much encouraged by, like I think everybody in the country is, by young Hunt, he scored again for Reading today, Shane Long, Paul McShane, Kevin Doyle, young Darren Gibson who is at Manchester United and on loan at Antwerp, Terry Dixon at Spurs, Billy Clarke from Cork who’s with Ipswich, young McCarthy who’s with Hamilton his grandfather was from Donegal. I think there are a lot of very good players coming through. I think patience is required as we bring those players through. The omens are good”’.