The Hockey Ireland Under 21 Men’s team will become champions of progress through GOAL’s dedicated humanitarian aid work
Thursday, October 16 – Dublin: GOAL Global and Hockey Ireland are proud to announce an exciting new partnership designed towards empowering young hockey players, amplifying GOAL’S life-saving humanitarian efforts, and creating meaningful, lasting change in vulnerable communities around the world.
At the heart of this unique collaboration is a shared commitment to engage and inspire the Hockey Ireland U21 Men’s hockey team, to lead the way in championing sustainability, resilience, and fairness, both at home and abroad. Through this partnership, the talented players will gain the tools necessary to take on leadership roles in driving positive change, while gaining first-hand insight into GOAL’s important mission.
Each year, the partnership will spotlight one of the 14-programme countries in which GOAL works, offering focused support and driving real-world impact in these crisis-hit areas. Thanks to the generous backing of the Manverton Foundation, long-time Hockey Ireland supporters, the first year of collaboration will centre on Sierra Leone, where efforts will be directed towards improving maternal and youth health services in Sembehun, Bo District, Southern Province.
The announcement kicks off a mutual brand awareness campaign, which will see the GOAL logo placed on the Hockey Ireland U21 Men’s kit ahead of this year’s Junior World Cup in India, while GOAL amplifies the Hockey Ireland U21 programmes through its own social media channels.
Speaking about the new partnership, Jennifer Farrelly, Interim GOAL CEO, said:
“We are thrilled to partner with Hockey Ireland and their inspiring young athletes. Together with these remarkable and socially-conscious young people, we can continue to drive real change in the communities that GOAL serves around the world.
“We are extremely grateful to Jim and Susan Spence of the Manverton Foundation for their role in making this ambitious and meaningful partnership become a reality.”
Hockey Ireland’s High Performance Manager Christine O’Shea, said:
“Our U21 players will work with GOAL to become champions of progress towards a more sustainable world for all and in return, we can help GOAL in their ongoing mission to gain the vital humanitarian support that they urgently need to survive crises in the world’s most affected areas. In that sense, it’s a very innovative and mutually rewarding programme.
“With significant support from the Manverton Foundation, players will work with GOAL on one programme country project per year, starting in year one with a focus on improving maternal and youth health services in Sembehun, Bo District, Southern Province, Sierra Leone.”