Soccer clubs invited to take part in Walk of Dreams

Mike Rafferty

Despite recently celebrating his 70th birthday John Giles is not the retiring type and the recent announcement that he is to front a fund raising project has him hopping all over the country like a young schoolboy to highlight the event.

The John Giles Foundation is organising the ‘Walk of Dreams’ an event in which every soccer club in the country is asked to get involved in and on Sunday, March 27 there will be walks arranged at 14 different centres throughout the nation.

Giles paid a visit to Terryland Park recent;ly to launch the Galway walk, along with Foundation manager Noel Mooney, where they were welcomed by Galway and District League Chairman Joe Keating to Terryland Park and a brief presentation explained the plan of events for the occasion.

The ‘Walk of Dreams’ will bring together people who love football from all over Galway to demonstrate the growth and importance of football in Galway communities whilst raising funds for clubs throughout Galway and the John Giles Foundation. The walk will start and finish at Long Walk, South Park with more details on the route to follow.

The John Giles Foundation was founded to use football as a vehicle for social change, to build community cohesion, increase participation and to improve health and education by providing funding to help football in clubs, schools and community groups in Ireland.

Half of funds raised will be retained by participating football clubs while the other half will go to the Foundation for community football projects in clubs, schools and community groups throughout Ireland.With the assistance of local coordinators, the network of the FAI will be put at the disposal of the Foundation to help run the various centres on the day under the banner of “ Football improves people’s lives and communities “.

“I wanted to help harness the great energy of the football family and use it to come together on March 27 to demonstrate that football forms a large and very important part of Irish community life offering many thousands of people an outlet to enjoy themselves.

For more, read this week's Connacht Sentinel.