A girls' football team at a Co Antrim Primary School scored big after a visit from the Northern Ireland Ladies manager Kenny Shiels.
Pupils at Abbots Cross Primary School in Newtownabbey showed off their skills at a special training session held by Shiels on a visit to the school.
Primary 4 teacher Andrea Cochrane explained Abbots Cross has a talented girls’ football team with many individual players already showing great promise.
She said: "Mr Shiels treated the team to a fantastic football training session which not only developed their skills but included many great life lessons as well.
"The visit by Mr Shiels gave a great boost to their confidence! This visit proved to be a great inspiration for all of the pupils and really tied in with the school’s motto, To be the Best I Can."
As the coach of the girls' football team, Miss Cochrane was delighted to see the pupils be inspired to pursue what they are passionate about.
Shiels was appointed manager of the Northern Ireland women's national team in 2019 and 2021, led them to a 4–1 in the UEFA Women's Euro 2022 qualifying play-offs which was the first time that Northern Ireland's women's team had qualified for a major tournament final.
He also led engaging and fun skills sessions with all the Primary 4 and Primary 5 classes and provided a question and answer session for Primary 6 and Primary 7.
Joanne Griffith, principal of Abbots Cross, said: "We want to say a huge thank you to Mr Shiels for taking time out of his busy schedule to visit the school and for being such a positive role model for our pupils.
"This was a truly memorable and enjoyable event that both the children and staff at Abbots Cross Primary will remember for a long time to come.”
For the latest breaking news straight to your inbox, sign up for our newsletter here.
