Paddy puts first €10,000 from #SaveOurGame into Irish football

We're helping out Irish football... thanks to England?!

We’re delighted to reveal the first clubs set to benefit off the back of England’s performance at Euro 2020 through their #SAVEOURGAME campaign, where we’re coughing up €10k to Irish football for every goal the Three Lions score during the tournament.

In case you didn’t know, we’re giving €10,000 to Irish football for every goal England score at the Euros – so, for as long as England remain in the tournament, every club in the country with 18+ teams can get in touch via saveourgame@paddypower.com explaining what they need cash for and why.

And, with Southgate’s squad getting stage fright so far and Raheem Sterling the only one to net Euros for Irish football to date, you might think that’s saving us a few shekels, but we’ve guaranteed a €100, 000 minimum donation – in a bid to ensure that football’s coming home…no matter what.

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Coppers has been closed for almost 18 months now so there’s plenty of us who know what not being able to score feels like.

But even though Southgate is having a shocker, it’s still good news for Irish football. We will ensure that as many clubs as possible in Ireland avoid seeing a nil-nil draw from this fund by guaranteeing a €100k pot – even if the Three Lions are fast becoming accustomed to such results.

From acts of senseless vandalism during lockdown to ripped nets and clubs needing something as basic as actual footballs, we have seen it all since opening the floodgates to applications in our appeal to help Irish football clubs.

After trawlinging through countless applications from clubs the length and breadth of the nation, Lenamore Rovers, a small club in south Kerry, cried out for help and Paddy Power heard them.

Having shared images of their mangled goal post nets, held together by cable ties and prayers, PP pledged to make a donation towards replacements for the club so they don’t make a holey show of themselves in the Kerry District League.

Dublin’s Ballymun United Football Club, who are members of the Leinster Senior League, proved that even high-profile clubs are struggling to fund basic needs, and sought cash towards the purchase of balls, bibs, training equipment and kits.

Third division club Kilbarry Rangers, who are part of the Waterford Football League, was resurrected in 2019 by the grandson of the club’s original founder who passed away in 2017. But just as they found their feet, COVID-19 struck and the cost to the fledging club in wasted fees and insurance cover has pushed them towards breaking point.

St Carthage’s AFC, in Tullamore, Co Offaly hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons during the latest lockdown when their facilities in rural Co Offaly were destroyed in a senseless act of vandalism last April. Thugs ripped down everything…including the interior walls of their changing facilities.

When the chairman of Coole Football Club in Gort, Co Galway contacted Padd/yto explain their predicament, we thought it was a load of balls, and not just because their plea was for exactly that – a load of balls. Their conundrum lies in the fact that while they are based in Galway, they play as part of the Clare League meaning they struggle to get grants for financial assistance from either side of the county line. And let’s face it, they’re not the first to find themselves up against hard border issues!

Carrick Town AFC are part of the Sligo Leitrim District League and rent The Showgrounds, better known as the bull field locally, and home to Sligo Rovers. However, they’ve been functioning with the bare minimum of training equipment to date.

If your club needs a clubhouse refit – or just a few footballs –  get in touch via saveourgame@paddypower.com explaining what they need cash for and why.

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