NDSL delight as Fingal commit to scholarship scheme
Tuesday December 09 2008
THE NDSL have expressed their delight with the new Sporting Fingal FC scholarship scheme.
North Dublin supremo Liam Farrell was at the launch of the project, and he was among several leading football figures that welcomed the initiative.
It is being run with the Dublin City University and the Institute of Technology, Blanchardstown. The scheme will commence for the 2009/2010 Academic Year.
It will enable players attached to Sporting Fingal to apply for a sports scholarship with either DCU or ITB.
Director of Football at Sporting Fingal, Liam Buckley, is thrilled with the development. "It will be hugely support our plans for long-term player development," he says.
Buckley was a brilliant and brave centre-forward in the League of Ireland before he went to play in the Belgium League.
He was one of the finest headers of a football that the LOI ever saw, and he has achieved much with Sporting Fingal. The LOI newcomers lit up Santry Stadium with their exploits in the League and FAI Cup.
And it's likely that in the future that many NDSL footballers will go on to wear their jersey.
The scholarship is kindly supported by the Dublin Airport Authority, and the club will offer every encouragement to players who wish to pursue a third level qualification while simultaneously pursuing a professional football career.
The former Irish international boss, Eoin Hand, also saluted the idea. "Education and football should be complementary, and this is very much a step in the right direction," comments the manager of the FAI Football Support Services.
From the start, Sporting Fingal's aim was to get right to the heart of the community, and this is another boost for the people in the North Dublin locality.
"We feel that the promotion of education as part of a sporting career is a crucial element of the process," remarks club secretary, John O'Brien. Details on the scholarship are available on www.sportingfingal.ie
- Niall Scully
