The Irish Football Association is supporting a major cross-border initiative aimed at using sport to promote positive relations, inclusion and lasting community connections.
The four-year Sport 4 Peace project is led by Ulster GAA in partnership with Ulster Rugby, the Irish FA and the Football Association of Ireland.
Supported by PEACEPLUS, the project will deliver a programme of sustained, meaningful engagement designed to bring people from different backgrounds together through sport.
The launch of the project, which was staged at Newforge Sports Complex in south Belfast, was attended by Northern Ireland senior men’s team manager Michael O’Neill, Ulster Rugby general manager Rory Best, two-time All-Ireland-winning Gaelic footballer Peter Canavan and the FAI head of women and girls’ football, Lizzy Kent.
Over the lifetime of the project more than 6,000 participants will be engaged through 96 schools and 80 sports clubs, with activity delivered across 14 council areas on a cross-community and cross-border basis, including border counties and areas experiencing higher levels of social need.
The programme focuses on long-term participation rather than one-off events, combining sport with education, leadership development, volunteering and community engagement. The organisers noted this approach is rooted in evidence that sport has its greatest peacebuilding impact when it creates regular, structured contact between people from different backgrounds.
Irish FA President Conrad Kirkwood said: “We are delighted once again to be playing our part in the Sport 4 Peace programme, helping to create more opportunities for children and young people to enjoy football across the country.
“In a society too often shaped by historical division, sport has a proven ability to bring communities together, build mutual understanding and create shared experiences.
“By working in partnership with other sporting bodies we can make a meaningful and lasting impact, demonstrating the positive and unifying power of football across our communities.”
FAI President Paul Cooke said the project would showcase the power of sport, while Ulster GAA President Michael Geoghegan said Sport 4 Peace would provide opportunities to change the lives of young people from different backgrounds.
And Ulster Rugby President Paul Hart said: “Sport has a unique ability to bring people together in ways that are meaningful, natural and lasting, and that is exactly what Sport 4 Peace is designed to do.”
PEACEPLUS is a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).
SEUPB Chief Executive Gina McIntyre said: “Sport 4 Peace is a very visible example of how PEACEPLUS is helping to build positive relations across our communities.
“By bringing together Ulster GAA, the Ulster Branch of the IRFU, the Irish Football Association and the Football Association of Ireland, this project will use sport to break down barriers, promote inclusion and create meaningful connections across Northern Ireland and the border counties (Cavan, Donegal and Monaghan).
“With support from many partners, Sport 4 Peace will help people from all backgrounds come together in a spirit of respect and understanding, and I have every faith that it will be successful.”
The launch event gathered sporting leaders, partners and invited guests, and included a panel discussion on the power of sport to build positive community relations.
It also featured a Game of Three Halves activity where pupils from four Belfast primary schools took part in a shared session of Gaelic football, rugby and football.
The schools, drawn from the first phase of the project, brought together children from different backgrounds in a practical demonstration of the programme’s aims.
The activity was delivered by 10 Community Sport Development Officers (CSDOs) from the four sporting bodies who will work collaboratively to deliver Sport 4 Peace across communities on a cross-border basis.
Sport 4 Peace will be delivered with the support of an extensive network of community, education, equality and statutory partners, and will operate in line with PEACEPLUS objectives to build peaceful and thriving communities by promoting positive relations, respect and inclusion.
PEACEPLUS is co-funded by the European Union, the UK Government, the Irish Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Image: Northern Ireland manager Michael O’Neill, Lizzy Kent (FAI), Peter Canavan (Ulster GAA) and Rory Best (Ulster Rugby) at the Sport 4 Peace launch.
