Football for All

PEKenAndSpeaker 30.09.19Guest Speaker Michael Boyd, Director of Football Development, IFA, in a detailed and well received presentation to the Club Monday 30 September spoke about “Football for All” and the work of the IFA Foundation - he is pictured with President Elect Ken Nixon. He advised how the IFA had strived, with ideas from fans, to make attending international matches ‘family friendly’ and particularly highlighted the work of the Foundation set up in 2015 revealing that it was not greatly known about as they haven’t been good at promoting it! The Foundation’s programmes are financed 50% from grants and 50% from the IFA and aim to reach out to young people making the sport fun, safe and inclusive as well as increasing youth participation rates and the percentage of schools where football is played, embedding a culture of club and youth volunteer development and coach education with certification and player development pathways. They also encompass mental health issues and have a disability section.