An Cosantóir

www.military.ie the defence forces magazine | 29 these is RQ Eddie Foley (Collins Bks, Cork) who is the only Irishman ever to officiate at the World Cup (France 1998). In 1994 Eddie was instrumental in the establishment of the Defence Forces Referees Association and through his work and the work of many others the Defence Forces now has 6 serving personnel currently officiating in the League of Ireland. At present, Eddie is one of only four UEFA Officials currently in Ireland and will be coordinating the officials for this years' championship in Galway. 'CISM' or 'The International Military Sports Council' was found- ed in 1948 with the goal of establishing permanent relations through sport between armed forces of the world. With its motto "friendship through sport", CISM has grown to become one of the largest international multi-sports federations in the world with 127 member countries and 25 distinct sporting disciplines. 2006 was the first time the Defence Forces soccer team qualified for the World Cup, an immaculate Home Farm hosted the World Cup qualifiers from 16th – 20th October 2006. The initial game, against a Greek team boasting con- scripted professionals from their Premier and First Divisions was a close affair, with the result being in the balance until literally the final kick of the game when a penalty sealed a 3 – 1 victory for the Greeks. The following night a determined Defence Forces team overcame a skilful Dutch side 1- 0 and, with Greece defeating the Netherlands 3 – 0 the night after, the Irish were assured of the play-off position against Italy. In February the Irish stunned a highly fancied Italian team 3-0 in Whitehall. Thus, the Defence Forces had succeeded in their aim of qualifying for the World Military (CISM) Games at the first time of asking. In extreme weather conditions, the Defence Forces eventually finished a highly credible 7th place, the highest position of any of the Western Nations. Since then the Defence Forces have gone on to compete in CISM European Champion- ships in 2010, 2012 and 2014 and have finished a highly credible third place on each occasion. The teams competing in this year's European Championship are (Group A) Ireland, France, Greece, Azerbaijan, (Group B) Germany, Poland, Netherlands and Lithuania with Ireland hosting Group A in Galway. The Irish DF face a challenge with two out of the top three most successful nations in World Military Football in France (5 World titles) and Greece (4 World titles) in Group One. France is also the reigning CISM European Champions and has defeated the Irish DF in both most recent meetings in 2014. Azerbaijan finished fourth in the most recent CISM World Games in 2015 so there is certainly no room for complacency with any of the teams in this Group. However the Irish DF Team have been consistently performing at CISM Championships and most recently defeated the reigning European Champions Germany at that time in Oleron, France in November 2014 with an outstanding display of courage and dedication. The current crop of Defence Forces players under the stewardship of manager Comdt Declan Sheri- dan, Assistant manager Cpl Tommy Hewitt and Coaches Lt Colm Kavanagh, CS Tony Jinks and Pte Alan Corboy have never been better prepared or more motivated. In their preparation for the upcoming European Championship the Defence Forces had a 2-1 victory over the Combined Colleges and Universities side in Collins Bks Cork and recorded a 1-0 win over the UK Armed Forces in Kilkenny. They have one more fixture remaining before the Championship against Limerick FC on 20th April in UL Campus. The hard fought and challenging matches to date are considered an essential part of the preparation process providing the opportunity to assess and refine systems of play, incorporate lessons identified and to instil a sense of belief and momentum going into the Championships. Both fixtures were very tight affairs played in good, competitive spirits with very little between the sides with the DF victorious in both instances. This helps to maintain momentum and further develop a winning mentality for DF players. As proud members of the Defence Forces the squad are fully cognisant of the expectations and responsibilities associated with wearing the national jersey and aspire to always do that jus- tice and uphold the values of the organisation. The DF team have personnel that are playing at the highest level of the Airtricity League of Ireland (4 with Wexford Youths) and representing clubs as coaches or players throughout the country. It is a measure of the discipline, commitment and loyalty of the squad that they can so effectively balance the demands of being fully operational professional soldiers with that of playing at the highest levels in Ireland. The script has not yet been written for the upcoming European Championships but the one surety is that the Irish Team will leave nothing behind them when the action commences. The Defence Forces also has a Women's Soccer team who has been gaining momentum since 2013. The Defence Forces Women's Soccer team plays fixtures against Colleges/Universities and FAI League teams each year. At international level they have played the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) twice and the Netherlands once. In 2013 they defeated the RAF after coming from behind. In 2014 the ladies again came from behind to force a draw against the Netherland (1-1). In December 2015 they played the RAF away with the ladies being denied a victory by a late equaliser and the game ending in a draw 1 -1. This was the first occasion that the Defence Forces Women's team played a representative fixture out- side of Ireland and, is an indicator of the positive progress made in recent years under the stew- ardship of Manager Sgt Darren Cody and Coach Pte Alan Corboy. The Women's team will look to build on this result into 2016 and beyond, having remained unbeaten now for the past three years at International level. Their next fixture is on 26th May against Tramore LFC in Tramore. Brig Gen Philip Brennan, GOC 1 Bde the current President of Defence Forces Soccer thanking Pte Mick McLoughlin, 3 Inf Bn and the officials at the recent game in Kilkenny. Photo by: Pte J. Darcy, 3 Inf Bn

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