Irish FA & Translink join forces to deliver school masterclass series in BBMS
The Irish FA Foundation in partnership with Translink will be providing pupils in Year 8 in BBMS the opportunity to attend football masterclasses as schools’ football is set to return. BBMS was one of eight schools that were the first in Northern Ireland to achieve the Gold School Quality Mark award from the Irish FA for the structures and processes we have in place for schools’ football. In previous years we have competed for the coveted Translink Gold Schools Cup and this year as we haven’t been able to compete in the competition Translink and the IFA have offered us masterclasses to give our pupils a much-needed return to the pitch.
Acting Director of the Irish FA Foundation Keith Gibson is delighted at the return of schools football:
“These masterclasses will give the pupils a welcome return to schools’ football and I must thank Translink for their continued support. This initiative will provide opportunities for pupils to get back to the pitch again and hopefully we will be able to see some games before the end of the school year.”
At our masterclass sessions we will have qualified Irish FA staff team provide resources and coaching sessions to improve and enhance football quality in anticipation of the return of the Gold Cup in the next school year.
Translink’s Hilton Parr said:
“The pandemic has impacted all aspects of life with sport in schools being severely impacted. Working closely with our partners in the Irish FA we’ve been able to adapt our plans and create this new masterclass initiative which will support young people across NI keep active, improve mental wellbeing and develop their sporting talent in a safe way.
“We hope all the pupils enjoy their masterclass sessions - it will be a great way to improve fitness and skill levels ahead of the much-awaited return of our Gold Cup competition when schools are able to compete against each other once again.”
Our pupils cannot wait for the masterclasses to begin and we welcomed Translink’s Hilton Parr and Irish FA’s Ian Stewart to our pitches at Mount Pleasant to launch the masterclasses.
