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IRISH SPORTS COUNCIL ANNOUNCES AMERICAN FOOTBALL GRANT AS PART OF THE NGB ALLOCATIONS FOR 2005.

ISC to fund cost of National Training Camps and New Equipment Scheme.

The Irish Sports Council has included American football in its 2005 NGB Annual Grant Allocations which were announced yesterday. The sport will receive €2,900 to be spent on National Training Camps, equipment and strategic development. This grant is in addition to the €2,600 that the ISC recently gave to be used primarily to fund the introduction of Coaching courses for Irish coaches. Details of the grant are as follows:

1. National Training Camps - €1,500.

The ISC has agreed to cover the estimated full cost of all the National Programme Training Camps expected to take place in 2005. This will include the trails and training in the run up to the Celtic Classic in May as well as some training sessions in the autumn.

2. Equipment - €1,000.

The ISC has agreed to a proposal to introduce a new equipment scheme whereby teams can be reimbursed up to 25% of the cost of purchasing protective equipment for players. It is hoped that the teams will use this scheme to assist with the purchase of team owned equipment and the provision of equipment to financially disadvantaged players.

3. Strategic Planning - €400.

This money is to be used to work on a strategic plan for the development of the sport in Ireland.