The programme offers a scholarship co-funded by the Association and Third Level Sports Departments to a Student Activator tasked with coordinating recreational football on their respective campus in an effort to boost participation levels of students across the country.
Last year, the programme had 2,500 students active on seventeen campuses and this year nineteen campuses have signed up to take part. The students participate in a twelve-week football programme split across two semesters. Following the culmination of their campus activity, teams from each participating campus are invited to the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown to participate in a festival of football with their academic counterparts.
This year’s programme kicked off with the incoming activators assembling in the Aviva Stadium for an information seminar before the Three International Friendly between Ireland and Bulgaria. The group were joined by various members of participating sports departments and previous activators to discuss the challenges and successes in enticing students to get active.
National Coordinator for Schools and Third Level Football Mark Scanlon was delighted with the reaction to the information seminar and is looking forward to the programme recommencing this year. Speaking at the event, Scanlon said, “It’s exciting to bring together the Student Activators for the first time and allow them a forum to flesh out their plans for the year. Increasing participation is a key objective for the Association and Third Level targets a unique demographic that presents numerous opportunities. We were able to explore some of these opportunities last year with 2,500 students participating in the various campuses and we hope to grow the programme even further this year. The programme also enables us to help develop future football administrators and we are looking forward to working with this years Student Activators.”
Students are recommended to contact their Sports Department to find out more about the recreational programme on their campus.
Third Level Recreational Football Programme Participating Institutions
Athlone IT, Cork IT, Dublin City University, Dundalk IT, GMIT Galway, GMIT Mayo, IT Carlow, IT Sligo, IT Tralee, Letterkenny IT, Limerick IT, Maynooth University, Trinity College Dublin, TU Dublin, University College Cork, University College Dublin, University of Limerick Waterford IT,