Sponsor for schools soccer

IRISH soccer's fastest expanding sector gained major backing from one of the country's leading financial institutions when the Irish Permanent was named as main sponsor of secondary schools football in this country.

Participation in the game at this level has more than doubled over the past six seasons to the point where 441 schools were involved in competition last year and with improved funding the Football Association of Ireland Schools (FAIS) is hopeful that they can achieve substantial growth up to the start of the next century.

Irish senior manager Mick McCarthy and goalkeeper Shay Given, himself a product of an FAIS Youth Development Programme, attended the announcement of the new deal in Dublin yesterday and McCarthy expressed his delight that one of the main sources of future talent in this country had secured substantial funding for the future.

An indication of just how strong the game is at this level was given last season when 10 of the Irish schools team had trials with major English clubs and players signed over the past couple of years have included Colin Hawkins, Stephen Grant and David Whittle who went to Coventry, Sunderland and QPR, respectively.

The new deal will cover all of the Association's competitions at which, both boys and girls will involve more than 70,000 players over the next 12 months.