| George Best Community Cup |
Click for :: Tickets and Merchandise World famous freestyler Colin Nell will feature at the George Best Community Cup at the Final at the Oval on 5th July! Colin Nell is the definitive football freestyler . . .
Colin has enjoyed an outstanding career as a professional football freestyler.
With his unbelievable skills, Colin has stunned and captivated crowds of all ages around the world. His talent with a football has led him to work alongside the biggest names in world football.
Colin's football wizardry has been utilised in numerous high profile media campaigns and feature films.
Interactive live performances are Colin’s speciality, setting him apart from other football freestylers. His reputation as a showcase entertainer is exemplary and has become the freestyle of choice for major sponsors, brands, promotions and high profile events.
Please see the links below for some examples of his skill. www.colinnell.net www.cnfreestylers.com Pitches times confirmed and Tickets for the final All spectators who support the anti-sectarian and anti-racist ethos of the tournament are welcome to join us at all stages - please come along! The George Best Community Cup will run in conjunction with the Titanic Festival on the 2nd - 6th July More information to follow soon
Official Launch - 1st May 2009
Sydenham Historical & Cultural Society, in association with the Co-operation Ireland CORE Project, officially launched the inaugural George Best Community Cup Belfast 2009, on Friday 1st May 2009 at Stormont Buildings. The George Best Community Cup event is a 3-day (3-5 July 2009), East Belfast based, cross-community and cross-border football tournament. It will bring together local Belfast and Northern Ireland teams as well as teams from the Republic of Ireland and Great Britain. Thirty-two teams involving 480 young people are expected to participate in the 11-a-side tournament and it will split between two different age groups -Under 13’s and Under 17’s. As well as promoting community spirit, the tournament will emphasise anti-sectarianism and anti-racism themes. Attending the launch was as Dawn Purvis MLA and Ian Paisley Jr MLA and representatives from some of the participating clubs - Shamrock Rovers FC, Guirdoch Utd. Doyle FC and Crusaders FC.
 
Speaking at the event, George Best’s sister and founder of the George Best Foundation, Barbara McNarry said “George would have been very supportive of the tournament and its cross-community and cross-border approach. And as he never lost his East Belfast roots, he would have been thrilled that the event will be taking place in the East Belfast area. Congratulations to all of the organisers.” David McConnell George Best Community Cup "This event has the potential to be huge for the East Belfast community. It is wonderful that the event is cross-community and cross-border in it's approach. We hope that the event grows year on year to develop into a tournament known for it's inclusive, professional and valuable delivery and for the development of young people in terms of football skills, and their understanding and respect of themselves and each other."
The management committee of the George Best Community Cup would like to take this opportunity to inform everyone of the launch of this year’s competition which will take place at 2pm on the 1st May 2009 at Stormont buildings in the long gallery. We will have a power point presentation followed by the draw for this year’s fixtures for the tournament. Invitations to attend this event have been posted accordingly and all recipients should RSVP as soon as possible to: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it to confirm your booking. We hope you can attend and look forward to your response.
Belfast 2009 The idea for this Prestigious Competition has been brewing for over two years and we are glad to say the time has arrived. The three day event playing host to two Cups, one being the U17 and the other U13 opens the window for a variety of age groups. Our aim is to make this cross-community and cross-border football tournament as professional as possible. Continuous preparation and training has been imposed behind the scenes by our committee and volunteers to ensure the experience for all those taking part will be a remembered one. Our goal is to make this an annual event just like the Milk Cup and Foyle Cup which are two of Northern Ireland's most prestigious youth tournaments. We feel with the resources we have at our disposal and with the local community behind the tournament 100%, we have the right foundation to make 2009 the birth of something special and what better name for the Cup than the legend that is George Best. Our unique Tournament will be holding 30 minute educational periods which we will call workshops. The areas we will be covering are Anti – racism, Anti – Sectarianism, Drug and Alcohol Awareness and Arts. Our aim is to make everyone fully aware of what is taking place on a day to day basis throughout all our communities at the hope of making this experience a fantastic sporting event, but also an educational learning curve for up to 480 youths. The feedback we have received from the surrounding community has been totally positive and has given all involved a real boost leading up to the opening of the tournament. The overall view seems to be that there was a real gap for this tournament to be held in Belfast, in that we already know of the Milk Cup and the Foyle Cup and how successful they’ve become and we are of the view we have the potential to be just as successful and with the support of our sponsors and community we aim to make our dream a reality. The tournament event builds on a very successful single identity football tournament organized by Sydenham Historical and Cultural Society in 2008. The George Best Community Cup will encourage children of all cultural and religious backgrounds to participate and will supply a new and effective way of addressing sectarianism and division in our society. The Cup will take place in conjunction with the Titanic Festival in East Belfast at the aim of having something for everyone. With a range of Cultural, Historical and family events; what better way to polish off a memorable experience. So if you’re playing, supporting a relative or maybe just a neutral spectator your sure not to be disappointed.
Yours in Sport,
David McConnell - Chair
  Training The George Best Community Cup Management Committee and 30 volunteers completed a 6 hour course on Sunday 1st of March which taught them how to deal with Sectarian and Racist behaviour as it is not tolerated in or around any event relating to the George Best Community Cup. This course was scheduled in the build up to the tournament at Ashfield Boys High. The course was carried out with Micheal Boyd from the IFA and Des Tomlinson from the FAI. All members who participated in the course would like to take this opportunity to thank both Michael and Des for going out of their way, especially Des who traveled almost 100 miles to deliver their roles in the course - A big thank you.
Discover Northern Ireland advertising George Best Community Cup Belfast City Council supporting George Best Community Cup Irish Football Association supporting Intercultural Volunteer Empowerment Workshop |
