Ballyclare Comrades FC is delighted to announce the appointment of Stephen Small as our new Manager.
Stephen brings a wealth of experience to the club as a UEFA Pro License coach, most recently working as the UEFA Academy Elite Performance Coach. During Stephen’s playing days, he played at the highest level in the country, making over 400 appearances in the Irish Premiership and captained his Cliftonville side in 2002/03, before going on to become assistant player manager at the club.
Stephen will watch his new players for the first time on Saturday as we welcome Dergview to Dixon Park.
Ballyclare Comrades FC is delighted to announce the formation of Ballyclare Comrades Ladies, following an amalgamation with Carnmoney Ladies FC. This exciting news has been in the pipeline for a number of months, with officials from both clubs working closely together to plan for the new venture. As of 1 January 2022, Carnmoney Ladies FC ceases to exist, and all previous Carnmoney teams become Ballyclare Comrades Ladies.
Ballyclare Comrades Ladies section includes two senior teams, competing in NIWFA Divisions 1 and 2 respectively, while the girls academy fields teams from Under 16 to Under 6, and will compete in competitions such as the SBYL Girls League, IFA East Antrim Girls GDP, IFA East Antrim Boys GDP, Fonacab Development Programme and the Belfast Swifts Development Programme.
The Senior Ladies teams will be managed by JP Coogan, providing continuity from his previous role at Carnmoney Ladies. The NIWFA 2022 league season begins in April, and we are excited to see the girls wearing the red of Ballyclare Comrades at Dixon Park.
Reacting to the announcement, Steven Lowry, the Chairman of the new Comrades Ladies section commented: “When this opportunity arose to join the Comrades, it was too good of an offer to refuse. It’s a great opportunity for the club, we have such a rich history over the last ten years”.
Comrades Ladies Manager, JP Coogan, commented: “Coming in to a NIFL club gives us better opportunities to progress both on and off the pitch. We now have much better facilities at Dixon Park which will hopefully help us to progress up the divisions”.
Trevor McCann, Chairman of Ballyclare Comrades Mens section commented: “I think it’s fantastic for Ballyclare Comrades Football Club. In our 102-year-history, we’ve never had a Ladies team and so it’s great to now bring Carnmoney Ladies on board. I believe it is the correct way forward for our great club and I wish everyone involved the best of luck”.
Comrades Mens First Team Manager, Paul Harbinson, commented: “It’s something we have been working on for a long time as part of the development process over the last number of years and I’m extremely excited for the club”.
The NI Football League can reveal that all member clubs including Ballyclare Comrades will be provided with life-saving defibrillators ahead of the new season.
Following the distressing events at Euro 2020 in Denmark, a risk assessment by the NIFL Board outlined a desire to protect all our clubs to potentially help save the life of someone experiencing a sudden cardiac arrest.
As a result, new defibrillators will be provided to 41 clubs within the NI Football League membership, including all teams in the Premiership, Championship, Premier Intermediate League and Women’s Premiership.
NIFL Chairman Gerard Lawlor said;
“The role of the NI Football League is not just to govern but to serve and protect our membership, and this is an important service that we can offer to our clubs to protect players, supporters and staff.”
“Everyone in football got a real shock at the events in Denmark a few weeks ago, so if this project saves one life over a period of time, we simply can’t put a value on that.”
“The health and welfare of the people connected with our clubs is paramount and sincere thanks to my colleagues on the NIFL Board for their support in delivering this vital support.”
Ballyclare Comrades FC are today delighted to unveil the new website, www.ballyclarecomrades.com, with a range of developments designed to make it easier for fans to discover the latest about the club.
The website works seamlessly across desktop, tablet and mobile devices and marks the next step of the club’s digital content strategy.
Scott Gault, the club’s digital & social media manager, who led the redesign, said: “We wanted to ensure the redesign made it easy for fans to use and navigate the site, particularly when on mobile. Our main aim is to deliver greater content to our supporters so that they never miss any club news, interviews, or match action. There’s a lot of exciting developments going on behind the scenes at the moment and it’s important that we have a platform to share how the club is progressing within the community.”
Ballyclare Comrades Academy are delighted to welcome Bob & Berts Coffee in supporting our ‘Promoting Sporting Engagement Scholarship’ initiative for Ballyclare Comrades Academy.
The support of Bob & Berts will enable young people to connect, keep learning and be active through the medium of football in order to develop their football skills as they progress through the club and with the support of Bob & Berts many children will be able to participate in football at Ballyclare Commrades that may otherwise be unable to do so.
Bob & Berts are excited to be included at the start of this devlopmental venture at Ballyclare Comrades Football Club and share the vision of supporting emotional health and wellbeing through community and sporting engagement.
As an Academy we are at the early stage of a journey and hope to work in partnership with Bob & Berts to leave a legacy for the Ballyclare community and beyond.
Ballyclare Comrades FC are delighted to announce their partnership in an exciting new venture to provide 16-19 year olds with a platform to be involved in full-time football.
We have linked up with Rangers Soccer Academy, Parkhall Integrated College and NI Goalkeeping Institute to allow 16- to 19-year-old students to achieve a BTEC National Extended Diploma in Sport at level 3, which is the equivalent of three A levels. These are exciting times as the club continues to expand its provision into the local community.
This partnership approach with Rangers Soccer Academy will allow students to receive top quality coaching as players, technical and tactical development and strength and conditioning. It will also offer top quality coach education in relation to becoming coaches and top quality guidance in crucial areas such as performance analysis and the wider business aspects of sport. It will draw upon the vast array of expertise and experience through Rangers Soccer Academy’s coaching platform and individuals in key positions within the club. The programme will be based around the key values of the club: relentlessness, excellence, aspiration and diversity, and will demonstrate the commitment of the club in working closely alongside an integrated college within Northern Ireland.
The partnership approach with Parkhall Integrated College will provide exciting opportunities at local club level for students as players, coaches, performance analysts or strength and conditioning trainers and provide a clear development pathway here within Irish League football.
Manager, Paul Harbinson – “We are delighted to have the opportunity to provide the local pathway element to young aspiring footballers, sports scientists, physiotherapists, game analysts etc. As a club, we have worked tirelessly to expand into the community to provide opportunities to everyone within the Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough, and this is another part of that process.
Level 3 education has been a part of the development plan for the club for the future and when given the chance to work with Parkhall Integrated College, Rangers Soccer Academy and the Northern Ireland Goalkeeping Institute, we felt this would provide young people with the best possible package of support to further their own development.
Football has become a major industry across the world, and we hope that using this as a vehicle, we can help local young people to develop future careers across that sporting industry.”
Phil Cowen (Senior Soccer Academies Executive and Scout at Rangers Soccer Academy) – “Rangers Football Club, through Rangers Soccer Academy, are delighted to be part of this innovative and exciting partnership. We plan to offer academy curriculum coaching to all players and are fully committed to delivering a programme for students which is second to none”
Trevor McCann (Chairman of Ballyclare Comrades FC) – “The industry of football is moving fast and we at Ballyclare Comrades FC are keen to keep ahead of the ever moving curve. This opportunity to offer our club as a local football pathway in Partnership with Parkhall Integrated College, Rangers Soccer Academy and Northern Ireland Goalkeeping Institute is one which we are delighted to be a part of.”
Michael Dougherty (NIGK) – “It is very exciting to be part of this exciting new venture. Through this we have the potential to continue to develop the best goalkeepers throughout Northern Ireland. The opportunity to be part of these new initiatives involving the school, the football clubs and the GAA clubs is fantastic.
Ballyclare Comrades FC notes the recent speculation in the local press regarding participation in the 2020/21 Sadler’s Peaky Blinder Irish Cup. We would like to advise our supporters that it is our intention to compete in this season’s competition, subject to being granted sufficient preparation time by the Northern Ireland Executive. Our last 32 clash away to Warrenpoint Town is provisionally scheduled to be played on Saturday 1st May 2021.
Manager Paul Harbinson states: “We asked the players for their opinion and, overwhelmingly, they want to get back playing. We have talked long and hard about their mental health and the fact they need that release of being together again. They are crying out for a date to get back training again. Of course, there is also a sense of reality about competing in the Irish Cup. I have assured the players that there will not be a lot expected of them. If conditions are right and we’re given the proper amount of time to train and prepare, we will look forward to the challenge of competing in this year’s Irish Cup.”
Naturally, we are still disappointed that we did not get to compete in a league programme this season due to the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. However, we feel that participating in the Irish Cup will be a good way to bring our club back together again ahead of the 2021/22 NIFL Championship season starting in August, when we hope that we will be welcoming fans back through the gates of Dixon Park once more.
