Glentoran Football Club welcomed 26 young players from Onside Soccer to The BetMcLean Oval on Thursday, continuing a friendship that has grown over the past four years.
The group travelled from Carshalton in south London and were given a behind-the-scenes tour of The Oval before taking part in a training session led by Glentoran Academy coaches.
The visit was supported by Glentoran Social Partnership, which also sponsored food and refreshments supplied by Pizza Hut.
Onside Soccer founder Paul Harbinson and Phil Kane from Project Playmaker, the charity’s Belfast programme, accompanied the group.
The trip to East Belfast has become an annual fixture which the young players eagerly anticipate.
Their relationship with the Club was strengthened further in February when the 1st Carshalton Glentoran Supporters’ Club was formally recognised as an official supporters’ club of Glentoran.
Ruth McCreery, Director of Glentoran Football Club, said: “We were delighted to welcome Paul, Phil and the young players from Onside Soccer back to The Oval.
“Our friendship has grown considerably over the past four years and it has been very rewarding to see the affection the group has developed for Glentoran. They arrive each year full of enthusiasm and our Academy coaches thoroughly enjoyed working with them again.
“The formation of the 1st Carshalton Glentoran Supporters’ Club shows how much the Club has come to mean to the children and their families. We are proud to have such an enthusiastic group representing the Glens in south London.
“I would like to thank our Academy Manager, Jacko, and his coaches for delivering the training session, John Moore for providing the tour of The Oval and Glentoran Social Partnership for supporting the visit, as well as Pizza Hut for supplying the food and refreshments.
“We greatly value our friendship with Onside Soccer and look forward to welcoming everyone back to The Oval.”
Paul Harbinson, founder of Onside Soccer, said: “Our annual visit to The Oval is one of the highlights of the year and the young players had another fantastic day.
“They loved seeing behind the scenes and having the opportunity to train with the Glentoran Academy coaches. Everyone at the Club is extremely generous with their time and makes the group feel at home from the moment we arrive.
“The children and their families have developed a real affection for Glentoran over the past four years. Establishing the 1st Carshalton Glentoran Supporters’ Club felt like a natural next step and they are very proud to represent the Club in south London.
“We are grateful to everyone at Glentoran and Glentoran Social Partnership for continuing to give the young players experiences and memories which will stay with them.”
Founded by Paul Harbinson in 2010, Onside Soccer is a Christian faith-based charity which uses football to support children and young people.
Based in Carshalton, the charity provides inclusive football coaching alongside mentoring, leadership and personal development opportunities in the UK and internationally. Its programmes are open to everyone.
Project Playmaker, launched by Onside Soccer in Belfast in 2024, delivers free cross-community football coaching, schools programmes and mentoring across north and west Belfast.
It also supports young people aged 15 to 25 through coaching qualifications, work experience and leadership opportunities. Glentoran captain Marcus Kane and Northern Ireland CP international Charlie Fogarty MBE are ambassadors for the programme.
Source: www.glentoran.com — Read the original article
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