LOCAL children are to be given the opportunity to display their football skills at an event beginning next month.
Former Republic of Ireland international Keith Andrews and current Republic of Ireland Women’s international Megan Campbell launched the SPAR FAI Primary School 5s Programme with a pop up training session at Keith’s former primary school, Scoil Mhuire CBS, Dublin.
The five-a-side school blitzes, open to boys and girls from fourth, fifth and sixth class, puts emphasis on fun and inclusivity.
SPAR and the FAI are encouraging local schools to sign up as they look to surpass 2017 participation figures, which saw 1,495 schools and 28,576 children lace up their boots to take to pitches around the country.
Registration for the programme will close on February 9, and county blitzes will kick off at the end of February.
Winning schools progress from county level to regional then provincial finals, with the lucky few making it all the way to the national finals, which will be held on the hallowed turf of the Aviva Stadium on May 30.
Seán Carr, FAI Schools chairman, said: “The competition has gone from strength to strength thanks to the assistance of our sponsors, SPAR, who have been supporting the programme since 2015 and put considerable time and effort into making it a huge success.”
The programme is an initiative organised by the Football Association of Ireland Schools (FAI Schools). Schools can register at www.fai.ie/primary5
