Benburb-based football club Riverdale Youth FC has been announced as a regional winner of the ‘Junior Club of the Year’ category at the McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards 2023.
The club will now go forward to the National Awards, to be held in November, where they have the chance to win the National Club of the Year.
The national awards ceremony of the McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards is due to take place at Belfast City Hall.
The regional awards event was hosted last week at The National Football Stadium at Windsor Park, where Northern Ireland legend and Fun Football Ambassador Pat Jennings presented the winners with their trophies.
The annual McDonald’s Irish FA Grassroots Football Awards, which celebrate 23 years in Northern Ireland this year, recognise the unbelievable work and commitment of football clubs and volunteers who give up their time and make a long-lasting impact on young people and communities across Northern Ireland.
Pat Jennings said: “Without grassroots football volunteers none of this could happen.
“Through the years I have witnessed first-hand the significant impact that McDonald’s Fun Football has had, and continues to have, on the lives of young people in Northern Ireland.
“It was fantastic to see McDonald’s recently announcing that 250,000 children from across the UK had benefitted from Fun Football in less than a year since the new programme launched.”
McDonald’s Franchisee John McCollum added: “McDonald’s is passionate about feeding and fostering communities and supporting local families, and our commitment to grassroots football is a great way for us to demonstrate that.
“The Grassroots Football Awards gives us a great opportunity to celebrate our local grassroots football heroes, who are the beating heart of the game we all love here in Northern Ireland. Congratulations to the winners.”
Last year McDonald’s launched its new Fun Football programme, which will provide over one million 5–11-year-olds with the opportunity to enjoy free football coaching across the UK.
The 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. The programme will be delivered in collaboration with the Irish FA, Scottish FA, The Football Association of Wales and a network of national coaching providers in England.
