Mayo club among those announced for LGFA and Lidl Ireland Serious Support programme

The Ladies Gaelic Football Association and its official retail partner, Lidl Ireland, last week announced the list of clubs who will participate in the new Serious Support Club Programme – aimed at supporting youth mental health.

Clubs from 18 counties have been selected, with the emphasis on making a significant difference in local communities by providing a safe and positive space for community members to share and engage. The Mayo club selected is MacHale Rovers.

All four provinces are represented in the list of clubs, with this new programme set to make a meaningful nationwide impact.

The initiative will base itself around the ‘five a day’ approach for mental health, utilising the five key themes of ‘connect’, ‘be active’, ‘take notice’, ‘keep learning’ and ‘give.’

The Lidl Serious Support Club Programme aims to raise awareness and improve understanding of mental health while empowering clubs to positively affect their members and communities.

The programme is already underway and will run through to November.

Participating clubs are encouraged to undertake various activities, to capture special moments and share them on their social media accounts using the hashtag #SeriousSupportClub, while also logging them on the dedicated Lidl Serious Support Club portal, where further resources and help are provided.

Clubs completing all five steps in the programme will receive official Lidl Serious Support Club accreditation, as well as new jerseys for their club. Accredited clubs will also enter the running to win one of three funding awards available with a total value of €10,000. They will be awarded to the clubs selected by the judging panel to have demonstrated the following: Most Innovative Initiative – €2,500; Strongest Community Involvement – €2,500; Best Overall Programme Engagement – €5,000.

Speaking about the Serious Support Club programme, Eimear O’Sullivan, corporate affairs director for Lidl Ireland and Northern Ireland, said: “The Lidl Serious Support Club programme is one of our flagship programmes with the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, which demonstrates our commitment to supporting young girls across the country, both on and off the pitch.

“Through this programme, we aim to raise awareness and improve understanding of mental health, while empowering clubs to positively affect their members and communities. We’ve seen first-hand how transformative the programme has been for participants, equipping young girls with lifelong skills to manage mental health, build resilience and overcome challenges.

“I’m delighted to announce the clubs selected to benefit from the programme and I’d like to thank all of our loyal shoppers who took the time to nominate their club.”

Ladies Gaelic Football Association President, Trina Murray, commented: “We are delighted to reveal the list of clubs now looking forward to the Serious Support Club initiative.

“The response to our call for nominations was significant and this is a programme that has the ability to make a huge difference in local communities.

“We have worked tirelessly alongside Lidl Ireland in recent years on mental health initiatives and this is yet another wonderful example of this excellent collaboration. Best wishes to the clubs involved.”