Martin Cassidy, Omagh Futsal Club, Volunteer in Sport Awards for 2022

The Federation of Irish Sport announced the winners of the 2022 Volunteers in Sport Awards proudly supported by the National Network of 29 Local Sports Partnerships.

Main picture is Martin Cassidy on the left and the Head Coach of Omagh Futsal Club, David Alonso.

The Volunteers in Sport Awards celebrate the contributions of the band of volunteers across the country who give their time to Irish sport and physical activity every year. Minister of State with responsibility for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne TD was the special guest speaker at the awards, which took place on March 22nd at The Crowne Plaza Hotel, Blanchardstown.

The event saw volunteers from all 32 counties honoured for their amazing dedication to volunteering across a variety of different sports. The County Tyrone award for 2022 has been awarded to Martin Cassidy of Omagh Futsal Club, who has been volunteering for more than 5 years. Martin as chairman has overseen the creation of multiple Futsal academies for ages 6 – 11, Futsal schools programmes, girl’s only futsal programmes, over 35’s social futsal, refugee futsal programme, futsal competitions and free futsal equipment for local schools and venues. The club now has hundreds of participants, and its objective is to become a sustainable club than delivers for everyone in its community.

Following a shortlisting process by the Selection Committee, the judging panel consisting of 9 individuals drawn from sports administration, academia, the volunteer community and media, and included former Director General of the GAA, Paraic Duffy, RTÉ broadcaster, Marie Crowe and Declan Jordan, Senior Lecturer in Economics at UCC.

Commenting on the awards, Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education, Thomas Byrne TD said:

“The volunteers being recognised today deserve enormous credit. Their work, often unseen and undertaken without any fuss or fanfare, makes sport a reality for hundreds if not thousands of people in their communities. In particular, the work of volunteers enables young people to play the sport that they love, to meet their friends and form lasting friendships. In so many ways, volunteers are the lifeblood of sport in this country, and I am privileged to have this opportunity to publicly acknowledge their vital contribution to Irish sport.”

Speaking about the importance of the awards, CEO of the Federation of Irish Sport, Mary O’Connor said:

“In every county throughout the country, clubs and sporting organisations facilitate multi-generational opportunities for people to be involved in sport and physical activity. The work and goodwill of sports volunteers across the country cannot be taken for granted… Every week in Ireland more than 450,000 volunteers bring sport and physical activity to life for our communities and it’s time we afford their hard work the recognition it deserves. It is therefore important that we showcase the size and scale of this contribution by bringing such volunteers together today at the Volunteers in Sport Awards with attendees from every county in the country to shine a spotlight on the positive work they do for sport and physical activity.”