CCFL founding member chosen for Hall of Fame award
Westmeath Independent Community & Sports Awards in association with Westmeath County Council
Hall of Fame award winner: Chris Hand
Upon attending his first ever soccer match, a 4-0 demolition of Manchester United by his beloved Manchester City, in 1969, Chris Hand was forever in love with the so-called beautiful game.
Aged just six and living with his family in Manchester, Chris had just seen City legends Colin Bell, Tony Book, Francis Lee and Mike Summerbee tear apart a United side boasting famous names like George Best, Bobby Charlton and Denis Law.
At the time, of course, he was none the wiser what his long-term association with the game would be. But the impact of that match, played at City's former Maine Road ground before an attendance of 63,000, had more than a lasting impression.
“That's where my love of the game started,” Chris said.
“Even though my father was a United fan, we lived in a City supporting area, and to see them hammer United was something else. I saw some amazing players that day and will never forget it,” he added.
Yet, the pull of home drew his late parents (Joe and Winifred) to return to Ireland – and their native Kilcormac in Offaly – in 1973. Chris' father took up employment at the Bord na Móna factory, near Birr, and along with his brother Paul, Chris settled into life in the much more rural settings of his parents' homeland.
In Kilcormac, the Hand family name is intrinsically linked to the GAA, with Chris' uncle Christy was a member of the Offaly minor football panel that won the All-Ireland final in 1964, and he later supported local youth development. Christy's son, Niall Hand, also won an All-Ireland minor hurling medal in 1989. On leaving England, Chris also took up GAA with the Kilcormac-Killoughey club and he even donned the county colours at various underage levels. But it was soccer that still burned brightly in his heart.
He joined the Kilcormac-based Frankford soccer club, earning his spurs as a combative midfield player, before work opportunities saw him move to Athlone, in 1983. Soon after, his appetite for soccer led him to joining local junior club Clonown Rovers, as a player, and he would proceed to give over 15 years service to the South Roscommon outfit. Clonown competed in the Roscommon & District Football League before switching to the Leinster Football League.
“At that time, organised soccer was a bit off-the-cuff in Ireland,” Chris explained.
“You can point to the success of the Irish national team under Jack Charlton, in the mid-1980s and '90s, which led to a real boom for soccer, and for more structured and organised leagues,” he added.
Chris, a long-time resident at Roslevin Lawns in Athlone, remained a loyal servant to Clonown Rovers and experienced his first taste of administration there, as club secretary.
With the formation of the former OWL (Offaly, Westmeath and Laois) League in 2002, Chris was asked to get more involved in the administrative side of the game, and his major task was to improve relations and publicity between the league and media outlets throughout the midlands.
In 2005, another new league took-off locally - the Combined Counties Football League (CCFL) - and Chris became vice-chairperson before settling in the role of secretary, which he has been dedicated to for 17 years.
“Look, nobody can run these things without help from others,” he said.
“I feel privileged and lucky to keep getting elected by the CCFL clubs at our Annual General Meetings. I have made so many friends across the midlands and beyond through the game, and the people involved in amateur soccer are some of the best people you will meet,” added Chris, who is also an elected member of the Leinster Football Association Executive Committee and the FAI Assembly.
Chris said the current CCFL structure is “in a good place” and that while it loses clubs from time to time, the core make-up of the league remains “extremely strong”. He said the administration side of the game has “changed dramatically” in recent years, with more modern technology introduced. He had special words of praise for three other CCFL committee members who has been there from its inception – Roscrea's Kevin Egan, Ballycommon's William Healy and Mountrath's Jimmy Kelly.
“There's huge amounts of work going into organising the leagues from week to week, in terms of sorting referees, which can be difficult, with postponements, re-arranging fixtures – all that sort of thing.
“It is a great honour for me to be chosen for the Westmeath Independent Sports Hall of Fame Award,” he said.
Chris also paid special tribute to his family – wife Christina and three daughters Charlene, Katie and Holly – for their support of his role in local soccer.
“My poor wife has been a soccer widow,” he joked.
“But my family's patience and support of what I do means everything to me, and I would like to thank them publicly. It does mean a lot,” added Chris.