Alex lads in Gaelic football tour of Ireland
ALEXANDRA - Energy sector engineering consultancy, ESB International sponsored the South African Gaels on their recent tour of Ireland, the home of gaelic football.
Energy sector engineering consultancy, ESB International sponsored the South African Gaels Gaelic football team on their tour of Ireland, the home of Gaelic football. Seventeen players from Johannesburg’s Alexandra and Thembisa townships played against Irish teams, met the President of the Republic of Ireland, Michael D Higgins and won the hearts of Irish fans on their week-long tour.
The South Africa Gaels, the first all-African gaels team, arrived in Ireland for their week-long tour on 21 March, where they were welcomed by Dublin footballers Bernard Brogan and Michael Darragh MacAuley, and by the company’s managing director, Ollie Brogan.
The South Africans played against several Irish and Northern-Irish teams, including St Vincent’s Juniors, Ballyboden St Enda’s and St Mary’s Belfast.
“I am from Thembisa in South Africa, that’s where we play our football and now we are going to play in the home of gaelic football,” exclaimed an enthusiastic Steven Malinga, upon arrival in Ireland.
Paul Farrell, business development manager for the company in Africa said, “We are deeply committed to supporting communities in the regions in which we work. “Sponsoring the South African Gaels tour of Ireland was the perfect opportunity for us to demonstrate our support for an all-African team, playing an Irish game that is being enjoyed by more than 200 South African players and rising in popularity in the region.”
The team’s Irish tour was followed by a stopover in Dubai, where they participated in the Dubai Duty Free Gulf Gaelic Games 2014. More than 110 competitive games took place on six pitches in the course of the day. The SA Gaels won the intermediate international division and proudly brought the cup back to South
Africa where they were welcomed home by friends and family.
