Fifty students celebrated their graduation from the Football and Fitness Transition Year Course at a ceremony in Dublin.

Jointly run by the Football Association and Fingal County Council, the course is split equally between boys and girls - in its ninth year for the boys and its second for the girls. The course combines football training, educational achievement, and personal development - equipping students not only for potential careers in football but also for broader success in life.

Ireland Women's National Team Head Coach Carla Ward and Ireland Men's Under-21 international Killian Phillips were the special guests, alongside Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh, at the ceremony where the players each received their certificate.

Mayor of Fingal, Cllr Brian McDonagh said: “It's great to see so many young people getting an opportunity to spend a year as professionals in sport, training and learning to coach along with continuing key academic subjects. All the schools that they've gone into as part of the course have also benefited hugely, and they’ve been absolutely delighted with the work that these young men and women have done to put back into the local community. The investment that Fingal and the FAI have put into this innovative programme is huge, and we wish this year’s graduates every success in the future.”

FAI Course Manager Denis Hyland expressed his pride in the programme’s continued success: “This is the ninth year of the course, and it continues to go from strength to strength. Importantly, it allows TY students to live the life of a full-time footballer while also meeting their educational needs. We are especially proud to welcome Killian Philips back to speak with this year’s graduates; he’s a fantastic role model for every student in the room and one of the most inspiring stories for any young footballer in the country”. 

While the joint initiative has heavy focus on football and fitness, it also helps equip students with valuable life skills. Participants gain a full Fitness Instructor’s qualification from Litton Lane Training and complete the FAI’s Coach Education pathway, earning PDP1 and PDP2 qualifications alongside a gym instructor qualification. Across the year that the TY course was running, students also undertake modules covering maths and English, as well as learning about topics such as sports psychology and nutrition, and there’s even cooking lessons involved on how to produce high-performance meals.

Fresh from his recent senior international call-up, Killian Phillips said: “I loved every minute of doing the TY course and it has given me memories for a lifetime. It really helped to push me on and I'm starting to reap the rewards. I think of the confidence boost as well, and showing me that if you keep working hard, be passionate about what you’re doing and put in the extra time every day that you can reach the highest levels. “

Women’s National Team Head Coach Carla Ward said: “I think you can see the positive impact this course has had on all of the graduates; it's an unbelievable initiative that is well resourced. And it’s not just football, it's about life skills, personal development and understanding how to be an elite athlete - you can't put a price on that. It's so important to look after this next generation and that we continue to create a pipeline of young players that will be hugely beneficial for the future of the game in Ireland.”

Since its launch, the Fingal’s TY boys programme has seen:

• 66 Underage International Players
• 37 International Debuts
• 2 Senior International Players – Andrew Omobamidele and Andrew Moran
• 38 First Team League of Ireland Players
• 12 Overseas Professional Contracts
• 43 Students Progressed to Third-Level Education
• 21 USA Scholarships

The success of the course is also reflected by the achievements already seen through the TY Girls Programme which has been running since 2023:

• 16 Underage International Players in the first two years of the programme
• 5 International Debuts