Ferbane"s Egan awarded GPA Scholarship

Offaly under-21 footballer Colin Egan was one of 77 players who this week received a third level scholarship from the Gaelic Players Association (GPA). A student at Galway/Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Egan plays his club football with Ferbane. Egan lined out at midfield for the Offaly U21 team in this year"s Leinster championship match against Westmeath. He received his scholarship under the GPA"s new Energise Sport Student Ambassador Programme - in what is the largest single distribution of scholarships ever granted by the GPA. Due to the overwhelming demand for scholarships and the increase in dual benefit for students over the past number of years through GPA and college assistance, this year"s GPA Energise Sport Scholarship Programme was confined to students who actively promoted the Energise Sport brand in a number of ways. The programme was structured to encourage the GPA"s student members to promote the players" principal sponsor on campus and in their clubs. Awards up to €1,500 were granted on the basis of a demonstration of promotional activity by the student. The GPA, celebrating its 10th anniversary this year, is committed to supporting the education of its members and has distributed 260 scholarships since the inception of the scheme. Speaking about the announcement, GPA Chief Executive Dessie Farrell said: 'The aim of the programme is to broaden the scholarship scheme in such a way as to encourage our student members to help promote the Association"s main sponsor Energise Sport, particularly so given the economic circumstances at the moment. We"re delighted with the huge response we received to the campaign. Education is a key area of the GPA"s player welfare portfolio and we are grateful for the support of Energise Sport in assisting student players to dedicate time to their college, club and county teams.'