The week-long dizzying festival of football that embraced every corner of Mayo last week came to an end on Saturday afternoon, with the FAI AGM in Breaffy House Resort. The festival of football which was promised by the FAI when they first announced that Mayo would host the AGM was duly delivered upon and from Sunday to Saturday Mayo got football fever. From Killala to Partry and Ballina to Westport, the people of Mayo came out in their thousands to meet and greet the top brass of the FAI, including Ireland senior manager Giovanni Trapattoni whose “walkabout” in Westport was one of the highlights of the week.
Over the course of the week, hundreds of volunteers were busy putting the final touches to clubhouses and pitches as new facilities were officially opened the length and breadth of the county, and the FAI showed their support for the game in the county by setting aside a special allocation of €100,000 funding which was given to the clubs around Mayo. FAI Chief Executive John Delaney was impressed with the reception that he and his entrouage were given around the county and the ambition of the clubs in Mayo. “All you have to look at is the ambitions of the clubs here to make sure that they have top-class facilities not just for their main teams but for the kids starting out because that’s what is really important. From the smallest areas and the smallest clubs, who are filled with great people who do great work.”
While Ray Houghton may be most fondly remembered for two of the most important goals in Irish soccer history, seeing the people of Mayo left a lasting impression on him. “The people of Mayo have been great, it should be told the work and the voluntary work that is going on by people in communities to make facilities like this available for everyone, especially all the kids, all you have to do is look around all week and see all the kids out there playing away and enjoying themselves. We’ve been out and around all week over the county and sometimes very early in the day and the people have come out to meet us. This doesn’t happen very easy and a lot of people have to put in an awful lot of work to make sure clubs survive and flourish.”
