Soccer showcase

I AM delighted that the UEFA Cup final will be held in the newly-refurbished Lansdowne Road stadium in 2010 and that the Under-21 European Championships may also be staged in Ireland with the final in Lansdowne Road.

Hopefully, this will spark a renewed interest in domestic soccer and will also give a boost to all of our youth teams — many of them in deprived areas — plodding away day after day, week after week, often with very poor facilities.

These clubs meet a great social need and help to keep many kids away from crime and drugs.