Sport Northern Ireland: Creating Opportunities provided £5,000 of match funding
Keady Celtic Oriels (3rd Team)
Armagh, Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon, United Kingdom
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Aim
Creating an additional senior football opportunity for local players, helping more people participate, develop and stay involved in the game
Who are we?
Keady Celtic FC is a grassroots football club established in 1987 and the only senior men's football club in Keady. We provide opportunities for people of all ages to play, develop and stay involved in football, working alongside Keady Academy to support the next generation of players.
We are a volunteer-led club with a strong commitment to participation, inclusion and our local community. As the club has grown, we have continued to look for ways to create additional opportunities for people to participate in and remain connected to football.
Why are we crowdfunding?
Last year's successful Creating Opportunities project was a time-limited U-21 development programme, created to address the lack of local Under-21 football provision. The project successfully demonstrated both the demand for this type of opportunity and the positive impact that additional football provision can have on participation.
What the project also highlighted was that the gap in participation extended beyond U-21 football. While younger players still need a pathway into senior football, we also identified older and more experienced players who had stepped away from regular football or could no longer commit to the demands of first-team football.
The Keady Celtic Oriels are therefore a new initiative, creating a third senior team and additional participation capacity that did not previously exist within the club. This creates a new participation opportunity rather than continuing an existing team or programme. The project brings these two needs together, providing a pathway for younger players while also creating an opportunity for more experienced and former players to return to regular physical activity and remain connected to football.
Some players from last year's project may naturally progress into the Oriels, but this represents progression from a completed project, rather than continuation of the same funded activity. The Oriels are a new senior team designed to address a broader participation gap and increase the opportunities available for people to play, develop and stay involved in football.
How we’ll spend the money raised
We are seeking to raise £8,000 to establish the new Oriels team and create additional opportunities for local players to participate, develop and stay involved in football.
The budget has been split across two pots. The £5,000 Sport NI contribution will directly support the participation element of the project, providing access to training facilities and the project-specific equipment required to enable players to take part. The £3,000 raised through Crowdfunder will cover the remaining costs associated with establishing the new team, including match-related costs and team kit.
Sport NI – £5,000
- Training facility hire – £2,700
- 4 pop-up goals – £800
- Equipment trolley – £350
- Training footballs – £200
- Bibs, cones & agility equipment – £240
- 5 match balls – £200
- 4 rebound boards – £360
- Specialist goalkeeping equipment – £150
Crowdfunder – £3,000
- Training facility hire – £630 (balance from above)
- Home match hire – £675
- Match official expenses – £995
- New team kit – £700
Every contribution will help us create additional opportunities to play, develop and stay involved in football, while helping establish the Oriels as a new participation pathway within Keady Celtic.
Community impact
Keady Celtic is about more than football. As the only senior men's football club in the town, we provide a place for people to stay active, build friendships, develop confidence and remain connected to their community.
The Oriels will extend this impact by addressing gaps in participation and creating additional opportunities for people to take part in organised sport. For younger players, the project provides an additional pathway into senior football, helping them remain engaged in organised sport and reducing the risk of disengagement after youth football. For older and more experienced players, it provides a route back into regular physical activity and the social side of the game.
The project will support physical activity, wellbeing, social connection, youth development, volunteering and leadership, helping more people remain active and involved in their community.
As a volunteer-led club in a rural area and an area of greatest need, creating accessible opportunities to participate is particularly important. The Oriels will increase the capacity of the club to provide regular opportunities for local people to play, develop and remain involved in football.
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 by 30th November 2026 at 12:00am