Cllr Mike Cubbard has welcomed the funding of €18,000 that will be provided by the Galway City Council to assist with the maintenance of pitches in the area.
It was announced at Monday’s budget meeting of the Galway City Council that nine clubs will benefit from the new project.
“The idea behind the fund of €18,000 was to work with the Galway & District League and the clubs to try to put some programme in place that we can bring at least one pitch for each of those clubs up to a high quality standard for footballers, both junior and juvenile,” Cubbard explains.
“That will be to put a programme in place. We already have outdoor staff working on the pitches on a rota, but we need to be a bit more ambitious now. We need to show a bit more vision. The Galway FA have shown that, speaking to [Galway FA chairman] Tom Trill in the past, the clubs and Tom have shown that.
“We want to have proper spring and summer renovations, proper fertilising, seeding, aeration, sanding. While a lot of work was done already it was probably done sporadically, on a reactionary basis. The crucial thing is we have to make sure we plan to have these pitches prepared for the soccer season we have in Galway. The fact that it is a city wide project, supported by all of the councillors in the pact I'm involved in, they were all very supportive.”
Ultimately thousands of junior and juvenile footballers will benefit according to Cubbard. “It involves nine clubs city wide, that takes in thousands of kids, not alone junior football,” he adds. “I think it is a good news story, hopefully as we now go forward the Galway FA with the nine clubs can meet to discuss the link up with the city council going forward so we can spend this fund wisely to improve our football pitches.
A former secretary of Hibernians, Cubbard is now heavily involved with Bohemians rapidly developing underage set-up. The importance of collaboration is vital to enhance football and facilities in the future.
“Galway is a big town, it is not a massive city,” Cubbard says. “We need to be working together on all of these projects, the Galway & District League link with Galway United is a hugely positive move for Galway football.
“There is an onus on us, I am a manager and coach for many years, a referee recently. We all have an obligation to try to improve our footballers, whatever level we coach at. In my role as a councillor and my colleagues too, I believe we also have an obligation. If we have 27 soccer pitches - that is not taking other sports into account - but we have an obligation to make sure those 27 pitches are to the best possible standard for the footballers coming through.
“As a coach I have seen it - hail, rain or snow - that it is very difficult to coach young footballers, the technique we try to coach them to play the game at on poor quality pitches. I have the utmost respect for our outdoor staff who work on our pitches, but I also feel we have always operated in a reactionary sort of a manner where issues with pitches arise and then do the work.
“Why not now flip that around, work with the clubs, work with the Galway & District League to have the pitches prepared well in advance of a season, to make sure we have a programme in place.”
Recently Cubbard completed a refereeing course and has taken charge of some fixtures locally.
“I'm enjoying it, I have done a few weeks now, it is busy,” Cubbard laughs. “In fairness they are a great bunch - the referees. I have done enough years on the sideline, probably giving a few headaches to a few referees along the way.”
PJ Norman has given significant service to Galway sport as a goalkeeper and referee with Cubbard acknowledging his contribution.
“I know you had new referees starting this weekend, but there is a great support network,” he adds. “PJ is a great help, there is a good bunch there. It is a new aspect for me, I have done the coaching, I am still coaching, I have managed young sides, I have managed in junior football so it is seeing the ball from a different angle for the last number of weeks. So far, so good.”
**Listen to the full interview with Mike Cubbard on this week’s ‘Cian on Sport’ podcast available on Soundcloud, Spotify, and Apple Podcasts.
