Sean Mackey has always wanted to be a professional footballer. Now, after graduating from the country’s only football and fitness transition year programme, that dream feels one step closer.
The programme provides 25 transition year (TY) students with the opportunity to meet their educational requirements while also developing football, fitness and life skills. The scheme is a joint collaboration between the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) and Fingal County Council.
Across the eight months, students take modules covering maths and English, as well as learning about topics such as sports psychology and nutrition, and cooking lessons on how to produce high-performance meals for athletes.
Speaking after his graduation ceremony, 16-year-old Mackey says he really enjoyed the course and feels he has come a long way.
“I really enjoyed the physical aspect, training in the gym three times a week. It helps you develop as a footballer. I made my international debut in the first month and I’ve been on every squad since,” he says.
“I think if you’re in normal TY, you might get a few teachers letting you do what you want, but you actually do get your education and your ITEC [award as a gym instructor]. I think that’s a really good qualification to have.”
In fact, Mackey isn’t the only one who made his international debut. Eleven of the 25 participants were capped for Ireland throughout the year.
Denis Hyland, course co-ordinator, says the calibre of talent in Ireland is high and demand for the programme is enormous. It receives about 100 applicants for only 25 places.
Previously, many talented players went to Britain at 16, but following Brexit players must now be 18 before they can join a team in England or Scotland. This is adding to the demand, says Hyland.
“It offers the players an opportunity to live the life of a footballer and meet their education in their own environment,” he says.
“We do an item gym instructor award. They come off the course as qualified gym instructors. They study anatomy and physiology, personal training, diet and nutrition. We also do maths and English, so there is a real learning curve there.”
Hyland says some graduates have gone on to play in the Premier League, Scotland and in the League of Ireland while others have gone to the United States.
“We tell the kids and their parents on the first day that there is a fantastic opportunity to meet their potential and there are plenty of pathways there,” he added.
Ross Tierney, who graduated from the programme in 2017, and who now plays professionally for Motherwell in Scotland, says the programme was his first taste of full-time football.
“For me, I just wanted to play football and this opened up a platform where I could get my education as well as helping my football. My dream is to become a professional footballer and I’ve got there but now I want to keep going up the levels and hopefully one day make my debut for the senior international team,” he says.
Director of community development at Fingal County Council Robert Burns says the programme has been in place for the past six years, but they want to broaden it to encompass women players.
“We know how important football and soccer is for women. It’s on TV a lot more, it’s on the media. We would really like to see that expand and be a little bit more diverse,” he says.
“I’m a little surprised it’s still only in Fingal County Council area. This sort of programme, for me, would work in a lot of other areas.”
