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Welcome Stephen Small!

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.

We wish Stephen every success at the Comrades.

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Club Statement: Paul Harbinson

Ballyclare Comrades FC can today confirm that manager Paul Harbinson has parted company with the club by mutual consent.

We wish to thank Paul and his staff for all of their tireless work during their time at the club, and wish them every success in the future.

Ballyclare Comrades will look to make an announcement on a new appointment soon.

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Ballyclare Comrades FC announce the establishment of Ballyclare Comrades Ladies

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”.

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Last Man Standing starting Friday 22nd Oct

Our popular Last Man Standing competition is back!

Reckon you know the English Premier League better than your mates? Then why not enter to try and win our £500 jackpot?!

Entries close at 4pm on Friday 22 October, first match kicks off at 8pm Friday 22 October.

RULES:

  1. £10 Entry
  2. Pick an English Premier League Team to win their match each gameweek. If they win, you are through. If they lose or draw, you are out.
  3. You cannot pick the same team twice.
  4. If you have not entered a team by the gameweek deadline, you will automatically be selected the first available team alphabetically.
  5. No splitting.
  6. If all remaining participants go out in the last week then prize money rolls over.
  7. No limit to amount of entries by a single person (multiple entries encouraged).
  8. Once week’s picks have been posted, they cannot be changed.

Enter at the following link: https://www.klubfunder.com/Clubs/Ballyclare_Comrades_Football_Club/BCFC_Last_Man_Standing_2122

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NIFL to supply Ballyclare Comrades with new defibrillator

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.”

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Ballyclare Comrades launch new club website redesign

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.”

To see the new site, visit www.ballyclarecomrades.com. Let us know what you think on Twitter.

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Bob & Berts Coffee partner with Ballyclare Comrades Academy

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.