Back the Meela

Aim

Help our club grow - so more people can stay active & connect through cross community football in Belfast.

• Who are we?

We are Corrymeela, an amateur 11-a-side cross community football club in Belfast. Founded in 1988  Corrymeela FC has stayed true to its roots as a team that promotes unity across Belfast’s communities through the simple joy of playing together. Rooted in the values of inclusion and respect, we continue to use football as a tool to break down barriers, foster friendships, and promote physical and mental wellbeing for people of all backgrounds.

Our club welcomes players of all ages, abilities, and communities. Our club offers a positive environment where everyone is encouraged to stay active, get involved, and connect with others. Whether it’s training sessions, match days, or club events, Corrymeela FC is about more than just football.

Why are we crowdfunding?

We are crowdfunding to deliver a new, time-limited player recruitment and coach-development project running from January to March 2026. This project is additional to our normal club activity and is designed to help us address a growing challenge: our second team increasingly struggles to field enough players each week. To protect the long-term sustainability of the team, we need to bring in new players and ensure they have the right support to participate confidently and consistently.

A key part of this project is removing financial barriers, both for new players and for those who want to get involved in football through coaching. Many people who step back from playing - often due to injury or life circumstances - still want to stay involved, and coaching can be a meaningful, accessible pathway. However, IFA coaching courses can be expensive and out of reach for many.

Funds raised through this campaign will enable us to fully cover the course fee for at least one new volunteer coach, helping them gain their qualification and supporting our club to deliver high-quality, inclusive sessions.

To deliver this project, we need to invest in:

• access to indoor/winter training facilities,
• equipment suited to beginners and returning players,
• targeted recruitment sessions, and
• the cost of putting a volunteer through their IFA coaching badge.

These are project-specific costs that fall outside normal club expenditure, and they are essential for us to engage people who are often under-represented in sport. By offering free participation for new players during the project, we aim to reduce the financial and cultural barriers that can keep people away from football.

By supporting this project, you are helping us:

• stabilise our second team,
• welcome new players into the club,
• fund a new volunteer coach to complete their IFA qualification, and
• create a more inclusive, accessible football environment.

This project is about levelling the playing field, building confidence, and ensuring that everyone - whether they want to play or coach - has a place at Corrymeela FC.

How we’ll spend the money raised

Below is how we will use the funds to deliver this new, time-limited project between January and March 2026. All spending directly supports new participants, removes financial barriers, and strengthens inclusion within the club and helps to level the playing field.

1. Training Equipment Upgrade

Description:

Purchase durable footballs, bibs, cones, ladders, and other essentials to support weekly training sessions for new participants, helping us integrate and retain players for our second team. This equipment will allow us to run safe, structured sessions tailored to beginners and returning players.

Deadline: March 2026

Cost: 

Training Ball set (£95 for 12) x 3 =£285.00 

Match ball set (£252 for 12) x 2 = £504.00

2. Additional Pitch Hire

Description:

Secure additional weekly training sessions specifically for new players. This allows us to offer low-cost, accessible opportunities for people joining the club, ensuring cost is never a barrier during their introduction period.

Deadline: March 2026

Cost: £36 per hour x 36 hours =£1368

3. Community Events Expansion

We will also pre-pay for weekly summer 2026 5-a-side community events during the project window. Although the event itself will be held after March 2026, only the funds raised directly from the crowd will be used for this element.

No Sport NI “Levelling the Playing Field” match funding will be used for activities delivered outside the project timeframe; only our own crowdfunded portion will cover the summer event costs.

This approach allows us to continue building momentum and engagement beyond the project while staying fully within Sport NI rules.

Deadline for project spend: March 2026

Cost: 16 x £43 = £688

4. Coaching Development

Description:

Fund IFA coaching courses for new volunteer coaches, removing the financial barrier that often prevents people - particularly those stepping back from playing due to injury or life changes- from staying involved in football. This will help us upskill two new coaches to support the training needs of new players entering the club.

Deadline: March 2026

Cost: £220 per person (IFA Level 1)

5. “Dads & Kids” Matchday Zone

Description:

Create a small, safe family-friendly area at our home fixtures in Cherryvale to encourage more parents and children to attend matches. Funding will purchase a gazebo, seating, a hot-water urn, and refreshments for both adults and children, helping us strengthen community involvement and reduce barriers for parents who want to participate while caring for children.

Deadline: March 2026

Cost: £300 (gazebo, seating, urn, refreshments)

Total £3365 

Commitment to Inclusion and Community

Every pound raised goes directly into delivering this new, clearly defined project - one that helps new players join without financial pressure, supports volunteers into coaching, and builds a more inclusive, community-centred club for everyone.

Community impact

Corrymeela FC is about giving people a place to play football, meet others, and feel part of something. It’s simple, but it matters. A lot of our players come to the club not just to kick a ball, but to find a bit of routine, a bit of community, and a bit of space away from everything else going on.

We’ve got players from all over Belfast and beyond, including, but not limited to, Somalia, England, Ukraine, Venezuela, and Brazil. We encourage diversity and inclusion and it makes us a really unique and special amateur football club in Belfast. The money we raise will help us expand our positive impact on the community. We are continually trying to level the playing field. We want to give a chance for people to show up, train, play, and feel welcome. That’s what the club’s always been about.

How you can play your part

There are four simple ways to help us reach our target, and make this project a reality.

1. Make a pledge. Don’t delay if you’re going to support us because momentum is key to our success!

2. Spread the word. Share our project on your social media pages and tell the world to get behind us! The more people we reach, the more support we will get.

3. Offer rewards. Get involved if you are a local business by donating things we can offer to our supporters. We will give you a shout out!

4. Fundraise for us. If you want to run your own fundraiser – maybe a sponsored activity or similar – use the 'contact project' button at the top of our page to let us know. Setting up your own page only takes a few minutes and you won’t need any bank details. Just a fun idea!

Funding method

Keep what you raise – this project will receive all pledges made