FAI AGM and festival of football set for Westmeath

IT'S been confirmed that the 2014 FAI Annual General Meeting & Festival of Football will be held in Co Westmeath. Though it's not yet been announced which Lake County town will host the event, the news will come as a major boost to the sport in Westmeath. Since 2007, the FAI has used its AGM week as an opportunity to showcase football in the host county through the addition of a week-long Festival of Football. The week-long Festival will see street festivals, FAI Summer Soccer Schools, FAI club visits county-wide, along with many more exciting football and community-based events across the county. The events will also be attended by local, regional and national sporting personalities. Late last week, the FAI Board of Management approved the decision to host the 2014 Festival in Westmeath, after an invitation was sent to them, by members of the Combined Counties Football League, to host the event in the midlands county. During the course of the 2014 Festival, the FAI will be expected to announce several thousands worth of grants to Westmeath clubs, as is generally the protocol during the annual event. The Festival of Football sees dignitaries from all sectors of the Irish game attend, and the arrival of several hundred guests to the region will surely come as a significant boost to whichever locality is selected as host town. Speaking this week, Combined Counties League official, Chris Hand, said the league was "delighted" to receive confirmation of the news from the FAI. "The members of the CCFL Executive Committee made the invitation to the FAI, and it's great news for football in Westmeath that the 2014 FAI AGM and Festival of Football will be held in Westmeath. I would expect a decision on the host town to be made very soon. I've attended the Festival of Football in the past, and was in Clare this year, and it truly is a remarkable week of football activity. There will be events going on here, there and everywhere throughout the entire county, and it's a fantastic chance for the FAI to showcase themselves in a positive light. It will also be a wonderful chance for Westmeath to showcase itself as a very strong football stronghold, and it will be a great honour for Westmeath, and all its football people, to host the week-long events," said Hand. Next year's event will take place in Donegal, and the following year will be held in Sligo, before Westmeath takes centre stage in 2014.