A Belfast grassroots football club has launched an exciting new partnership with a franchise based in the United States.
Cumann Spoirt An Phobail has linked up with New England Surf to allow some of their young players to connect as pen pals.
New England Surf is an elite soccer club based in Boston, Massachusetts, and currently caters for a massive roster of over 1000 players. It is also an affiliate of San Diego Surf, one of the most successful clubs in US Youth Soccer history.
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Cumann Spoirt An Phobail (CSP) was established in 2007 and is based in West Belfast. The club is a voluntary sporting organisation that aims to promote football as a means to 'positive community engagement'.
The partnership will initially see the 2010/11 age groups connect, allowing them to share their football and life experiences with each other as part of a pen pal exchange system. Each player will be buddied up with a player from the other club to write and exchange experiences in soccer and living in different parts of the world.
The partnership has been put together by Dee McComb from CSP and Joe Bradley, whose brother Peter Bradley is the Technical Director of New England Surf.
Dee said: "I come from a youth and community background, but I have been coaching youth football for about 18 years. I have always wanted to create opportunities for young people through sport.
"I have been looking across the world to find a club that would be willing to participate in a pen pal exchange-type programme with CSP. We want to create opportunities for our kids, and also offer opportunities to kids from the USA.
"It is all about learning and growth, and that's what led us to Joe Bradley who is based in Boston. Everyone got together on a Zoom call to chat things over and things kicked off from there."
This new partnership will see CSP's 2010 squad connect with kids of a similar age at New England Surf. They will write letters back and forth to each other, with both clubs keen to use the traditional methods of communicating instead of social media.
"It is about gaining experiences of life and football, school, social aspects and other things. It is about making the world a smaller place, and creating these avenues through football," Dee added.
"Further down the line we will then look at the potential for trips across the Atlantic. That's a long-term aim of the project.
"I see football as a perfect tool to connect people, to bring people together and to start, grow and maintain friendships, regardless of where they are in the world. We want this partnership to show our young people that there are opportunities out there for them.
"We, as coaches, are in a very privileged position in that we can have a positive influence on young people's lives, this is another example of how we can create opportunities, memories, experiences, friendships and learning all through our beautiful game, football.
"There is a massive buzz and enthusiasm around our club at the moment for this project to kick off, not only from players but all members of the club and wider community. A first of its kind and one that will lay strong foundations for many teams to follow.
"We cant wait to see what the next few weeks and months ahead bring."
Meanwhile, Cumann Spoirt An Phobail's next big event is a special Fun Day and Youth Presentation which is taking part in Springhill Park on Saturday afternoon, June 24.
The event gets under way at 12pm.
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