Ballymacash Sports Academy was born from Ballymacash Rangers Football Club in 2017.
Ballymacash Rangers Football club served the community of Ballymacash and local young people for over 30 years. It was formed in 1984 by young men in the area who wanted to play organised football.
Transformation
Following a community led approach they replaced what was a bonfire site at Rushmore Park, into a home for the club, now known as ‘The Bluebell’. This was part of a wider community effort to reduce the number of 11th July bonfires in the area.
Through the club, thousands of young people have been engaged in football over the years and our teams having played football at Mid Ulster Intermediate A level for over 20 years, the club gained promotion to the NI Football League in 2022.
At the beginning of 2017, we embraced the fact that developing sports in the community meant developing stronger communities. We began to work in partnership with other local organisations and plan for better facilities, more sports activities and become a truly accessible Sports Academy at The Bluebell site.
We believe sporting participation and social cohesion go hand in hand and in turn, this makes communities stronger and healthier.
