BY CHRIS MCNULTY
LETTERKENNY woman Ciara Grant is set to travel to South Korea next month with the Irish Colleges soccer team to participate in the World Student Games – but needs fundraising assistance to make the trip to Gwangju.
The World Student Games are held from July 3-14 next and Grant – who competed at the last Games in Kazan, Russia – has been selected as part of the soccer squad again.
The UCD Waves midfielder, who is a 15-times capped Republic of Ireland senior international, is asking for help to make the self-funded trip.
“I really don’t like asking people for money but I would greatly appreciate any donation that people could offer as I have to raise a considerable amount of money,” she explained.
“I had the privalege of being selected for the last games, which took place in Kazan, Russia. It was one of the best experiences of my life and I am very excited and honoured to have the opportunity to play in them once again.
“Unfortunately, Student Sport Ireland is a voluntary organisation and the majority of this trip has to be funded by each individual athlete.”
Grant, who turned 22 on Thursday, won her 15th Irish cap last month when she played against the United States of America at the Avaya Stadium in San Jose.
A full-time medical student at UCD, she is now in the fourth year of a six-year course.
She said: “It’s not too bad combining sport and study. It takes a lot of organisation and planning, but the College is very accommodating and they couldn’t have been better with the work experience. They are very good at liaising.”
Ciara is seeking donations from individuals and companies. From companies, she is seeking a minimum of €100, in return for which the following is being offered: Your company name will be put into a draw with the winner to become the official jersey sponsor for the WSCAI Irish Colleges Team for the academic year of 2015-2016 and have your company name printed on the jerseys; Your company logo will be advertised on the third level football website www.thirdlevelfootball.ie; You will be entered into a draw for two tickets for the UEFA European Qualifiers match – Republic of Ireland v Georgia, 7th September 2015.
You can donate to Ciara’s fundraising efforts by logging into the following website: http://tinyurl.com/qyp9mbw
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