Irish legends to attend rovers aviva club of the year showcase
IRISH legends Phil Babb and Stephen Hunt will be making the trip to Achill Island at the weekend as Achill Rovers celebrate being named the AVIVA FAI Club of the Year.
Rovers won the award in July at the FAI Festival of Football in Sligo ahead of seven other short-listed clubs and ahead of the hundreds that entered overall. They were short-listed in the participation category but it was their overall work in the community which saw them take the award back to the island.
Four years ago Achill Rovers on the verge of extinction but they have managed to turn it around completely, which includes getting 200 of the 250 primary school children on the island playing football in the club.
For a sporting organisation that has been crippled by emigration, they now have 12 teams playing across a range of leagues, including two female teams.
On Saturday (October 10) the club will be showcasing all the best it has to offer, with Babb and Hunt on hand to help with the fun and games for all the family. This will include exhibition matches, coaching sessions, skill sessions and even some welly-throwing.
Today FM will also be broadcasting live from Fr. O’Brien Park too, with the showcase kicking off from 11 a.m. and running well into the afternoon.
Sean Molloy, vice-chairman of Achill Rovers, said: “Saturday is a very proud day for Achill Rovers. We entered the Aviva Club of the Year to gauge our progress as a club - we never imagined we would win. It has been such a huge boost to the club and validation that everything we have been doing is working.
“There will be some very proud people here on Saturday as they will have seen where we were several years ago and see us showcasing how great our club is now.”
The group sponsorship manager with AVIVA, Mark Russell, added: “Achill Rovers are an outstanding club of the year. They were the stand-out winners this year and while they have done amazing work in participation, it’s the impact they have made across the island community that hit home.
“We are delighted to be able to bring the AVIVA Club of the Year roadshow to Achill and see what this club means to everyone involved.”