Olympian Raymond Gannon was awarded an international soccer cap in Dublin City Hall on Thursday 13th of December.
It was an impressive venue for the 7th Annual FAI Football for All International Caps night. Special Olympics Ireland was represented by the three teams that participated in the Summer Games in Athens in June & July 2011. The teams all performed well in Athens in the high temperatures of a Greek summer and put in some fantastic displays of football. One of the highlights was the final of the men’s 5-a-side division where, after a gruelling 3-3 match, Team Ireland eventually emerged victorious following a sudden death penalty shoot-out, to claim the gold medal in what was surely one of the most tightly contested games of the tournament.
The ladies also performed admirably, securing bronze with a final win over Italy, while the men’s 11-a-side team brought home silver after some high paced, high quality matches against the likes of Australia and India, eventually finishing with a draw against nearest rivals Team GB. The players were honoured by the FAI’s Football for All programme and presented their caps by former Irish International Ray Houghton and rising star Seán St. Ledger.
Raymond is now in training for the 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games which will be hosted in Los Angeles California, USA.
By Jason McDonnell
