Ballywalter Recreation Youth Football Club held a fabulously fun football day recently.

Thanks to a grant of nearly £850 from the Housing Executive’s Community Cohesion Team, eight teams of 7-year olds came together with their family and friends in Ballywalter to enjoy a 5-aside tournament.  They hailed from Bangor, Carryduff, Comber, Holywood and Millisle as well as Ballywalter. 
It wasn’t just football on offer for the cross community fun day.  Organisers made sure there was something for everyone with lots of activities going on including beat the goalkeeper and training drills.  They also had cage football, which proved very popular, a bouncy castle, a helter-skelter and chocolate fountain with marshmallows and strawberries to enjoy.
It was a hotly contested tournament with all eight teams playing their hearts out in the group stage with the eventual winners of each group and runner up playing the semi-finals.  The final was contested by Abbey Villa and Comber Rec with the eventual winner Comber Rec.

Robert Beggs, Chair of Ballywalter Recreation Youth Football Club, one of the people who organised the event said:
“We were delighted with the response to our fun day it’s been a great family day out and we made sure the afternoon had something for everyone to enjoy regardless of ability/interest.  The atmosphere at the mini-tournament was terrific as the family and friends of those taking part really got behind their teams.  I’d like to thank the Housing Executive for their support of the event.” 

The Housing Executive’s Community Cohesion officer, Connor Smyth, commented:
“The Housing Executive believes events such as this can have a real impact on social inclusion so we were delighted to work with the Ballywalter Recreation Youth Football Club on this initiative.  
“This is the start of a number of initiatives the club is undertaking and I look forward to hearing how the club develops and contributes to good relations in Ballywalter.” 

The club is planning a series of good relations and education workshops for parents, officials and the coaching team for this autumn.  They also have a push on to recruit more girls to take part in soccer to develop this side of the Ballywalter club.

Pictured are the semi-final teams from Comber Rec, Abbey Villa, Ballywalter and Holywood.  They are with their coaches/trainers (L-R): Warren Gibb (Comber Rec), Mervyn Taylor and William Hutton (Abbey Villa), Jonny Watson (Ballywalter), Tony Steed and James Spence (Ballywalter) and Niall Lavery (Holywood).