Ballina Young People Lead The Way

The UEFA Foundation and Rio Ferdinand Foundation have collaborated to give young people across Ireland a match-winning opportunity at the upcoming Europa League final in Dublin on Wednesday, 22 May.

In recognition of the work the UEFA Foundation for Children has done in Ireland, twenty-two young people from partnership programmes will have the honour of walking out of the tunnel alongside the players of Italian team Atlanta and German club Bayer Leverkusen at Aviva Stadium Dublin, just before kick-off at 8pm. 

Among the mascots for the game will be eleven pupils of the Culleens National School, Ballina, Co. Mayo and eleven young people from the Sport Against Racism Ireland project in Dublin. Match mascots will be cheered on by their parents and chaperones, who will join an expected crowd of over 50,000 at Aviva Park for the final.

The opportunity follows the Rio Ferdinand Foundation partnership with the UEFA Foundation for Children in Connacht and Ulster over the last 4 years, and comes hot on the heels of Rio Ferdinand’s visit to Ballina Town Football Club in March.

Gary Stannett, CEO of the Rio Ferdinand Foundation said:

‘Our work with the UEFA Foundation has provided long term education and training opportunities for young people to train as coaches over the past four years, and Culleens school has always supported us in allowing their pupils to take part in tournaments as part of a practical assessment on those courses.

It’s fantastic that we can now recognise that support by offering this opportunity for Culleens pupils to be mascots a one of the biggest European games of the season here in Dublin and I look forward to hearing their experiences after the game.’

Sinead Caffrey, Principal of Culleens National School Ballina said:

It’s not every day that a school can say they have pupils representing them on an international sporting stage and excitement around Culleens NS is at fever pitch! Our mascots have been spending the week researching the teams and their players…they even know who the referee will be!

The staff and pupils of Culleens are bursting with pride and cannot wait to see the boys and girls from our own school on the television screen on Wednesday night.

This is an experience the children, their families and the whole Culleens School Community will remember and treasure for many, many years.