Jim Magilton shows off his sea legs
Former Northern Ireland captain and current Ipswich Town manager Jim Magilton met with Poul Woodall the Route Director of Norfolkline Irish Sea, on board the Lagan Viking to celebrate the launch of the Norfolkline IFA Excellence Centres.
The Norfolkline Excellence Centres will operate from September to December 2008 and from February to May 2009. Over 780 boys and girls from all communities, aged from under 11 through to under 15, will benefit from the Norfolkline Excellence Centres.
The aim of these centres is to help nurture and develop the best of the Province’s young players. There has been a lot of work from local councils, the I.F.A and Norfolkline to bring young people from all communities across Northern Ireland together.
Poul Woodall, Route Director of Norfolkline Irish Sea, commented:
“Norfolkline strives to nurture young talent within the company. It is therefore appropriate that we support it at grassroots level within the communities we are involved with. The sponsorship of this programme shows that we are always seeking out new ideas while also trying to be innovative.
It is fantastic to see Jim Magilton here today supporting the programme. Jim is an ambassador of the grassroots programme who went on to play for his country 52 times. I am sure some of the skills he was taught at a young age during the grassroots programme have helped him become not only a great player, but also a great manager.
Norfolkline is very proud to be part of this exciting programme. We hope that the sponsorship will turn into a great partnership for all the concerned parties.”
Nigel Best, Manager of the Norfolkline IFA Excellence Centres, added:
“This is an exciting year for the programme. Not only will we be welcoming new boys and girls into the programme but we also have a new partner in Norfolkline. The programme is now in its third year and is going from strength to strength with the overall aim of producing future stars that hopefully one day will play for Northern Ireland.”