Ballinamallard United in running for £2.5m funding

BALLINAMALLARD United chairman Tom Elliott says the club is ‘very pleased’ to be in the running for multi-million pound support from the Northern Ireland Football Fund.
The Mallards are one of 20 clubs to reach the second round of the process, which will see significant grants awarded to clubs to enhance their facilities.
“We’re very pleased to be in this position. We genuinely didn’t think we’d have got there,” Mr Elliott admitted. “There were clubs that got earlier business plan development money and we thought it would give them a significant extra boost compared to what we can submit.”
Although funding is not yet guaranteed, Ballinamallard are now in a strong position to apply for £2.5 million through the Fund. Their proposal sets out five areas of development, including the creation of a community hub at Ferney Park – a project that would bring major benefits to the wider area.
“It would be massive. It would be massive for the club and community. We would be putting it onto a new level, particularly for young players and for females,” Mr Elliott explained.
The club must now provide detailed information to the Department for Communities by October 8 in order to progress to the next stage of the process.