~~Dear Parents,

The new season has just commenced after an intensive period of pre-season preparation. I would like to welcome back all of our existing players and their families and extend a special welcome to newcomers to the club.

As I outlined previously, the football season will now run on a calendar year basis, with the season starting in February, breaking for summer  (mid - June to late August) and then running until late November. We appreciate that breaking the link with the school year has caused some teething problems but overall the new schedule will mean fewer postponements, better playing surfaces for the players and better weather for the spectators. 

There have been a number of exciting developments in the club over the past few months. Last month we announced a partnership with Shamrock Rovers, Ireland's most successful football club, which will give us access to a limited number of free kids season tickets and a Granada Match Day in Tallaght Stadium on Friday 5th May when Rovers play current league champions Dundalk. Spaces for both adults and children will be limited as the game is expected to sell out so early registration is strongly recommended. We will announce more details on this event later this week. 

Our schools initiative goes from strength to strength, with Willow Park due to join our list of partner schools in April. Shamrock Rovers coaches and players will also assist in this initiative with schools visits in the coming months. Coaches from Rovers will also assist Gary Quinlan and his team with some club training sessions during the season.

We are continuing to upgrade our training facilities and now have access to an excellent surface in St Andrews College on Monday and Wednesday evenings. The club is also exploring other options in conjunction with other sports clubs and Dun Laoghaire Rathdown County Council with the aim of getting the use of a 4G surface for training, and ideally weekend matches also. We will keep you updated.

The numbers of girls playing for the club continues to increase and we are working with the South Dublin Football League to get them regular league football this season across a number of age groups. New female playing members are always welcome on a Sunday morning in either Carysfort or Hollypark.

As part of our ongoing commitment to making Granada a genuine community club we have had initial discussions with St Augustine's School and will look to provide some coaching support to their pupils in the coming season.

Our sponsorship initiative is just kicking off  - all parents can expect to receive details in the coming weeks. Our first sponsorship deal was secured by club administrator Les Holmes last week!

Finally, the club has been successful in fielding football teams for young people for 47 years because of one single factor above all others - adult participation. This request is made at the start of every season (probably for the past 47 years!) and results in a small number of new volunteers getting involved. Please consider being one of those volunteers this season.

I would like to wish all of our players and managers a successful, and most importantly, an enjoyable season ahead.

Yours in football,

Ciaran Kane

Chairman

Granada FC