Football Strategic Plan to be launched this month
A first ever strategic plan for Gaelic Football in the county will be launched next month.
At last weeks July County Board meeting in Thurles, Conor O'Dwyer, co-ordinator of the Football Strategic Plan, outlined some of the findings from a public meeting held in Thurles last March at where all stakeholders (90 in all) gathered to give their views on how the game can be improved in the county.
From there, a working group was put together to evaluate all the suggestions from where the Plan was put together and will be launched formally in Nenagh on Saturday 25th August and then in Clonmel on Saturday 8th September. The Nenagh launch will also include a reunion of the 1998 All Ireland Junior Championship winning team, captained by Nenagh's Kevin Coonan.
The Plan is broken down into six specific areas:
– Promotion of Football to the Tipperary Public – including using the centenary of the death of Michael Hogan in 2020 to make the Blood Sunday anniversary a special year for football in the county.
- Promotion and Development of football in Primary Schools – including have the Cumann na mBunscoil football finals moved to Semple Stadium, similar to hurling.
– Promotion and development of football in Secondary Schools – including focus on more 1st & 2nd year blitzes.
– Juvenile Development and Participation – Club football tends to be in April and May so the creation of additional football games in the Autumn for more games.
- Adult Football Participation – Divisions to organise championships as they see fit, i.e. the North Board could play the junior championship over the winter months, separate to the county championship with no link.
- Promotion of football in non-traditional areas – establish a regional Skills Development Workshop for players that are interested in football but who might not be the best players currently.
To read more, pick up a copy of this weeks Nenagh Guardian locally or subscribe to our e-paper to access it online each Wednesday.