Magilton's New Role

 Former Northern Ireland midfielder Jim Magilton has taken up a new role with the Irish Football Association after being appointed Elite Performance Director. Magilton, who has been capped 52 times for Northern Ireland, will be responsible for the elite player development of boys and girls which involves the identification and development of talented young players, while he will also oversee the IFA’s coach education programme. Magilton will start the role on 1^st July and has agreed a four year contract.

 Magilton spoke about his appointment and said “I am very pleased and indeed honoured to have been offered this opportunity to join the Irish Football Association as Elite Performance Director. Player identification and development is a key part of the modern game and I am looking forward to getting started in my new role and to working with all the young players in Northern Ireland.  We must work collectively and strategically to ensure we cultivate the most talented players, both boys and girls, at all age groups in Northern Ireland and I believe that by doing this we can create a talent pipeline which will help to build successful and sustainable international squads of the future.”

 Magilton’s new role will see him work closely with Northern Ireland’s manager Michael O’Neil. The pair previously played international football together and Magilton worked as O’Neil’s assistant when he was manager at Shamrock Rovers. O’Neil told reporters “I would like to take this opportunity to welcome Jim on board. I have known Jim for over 20 years and I know that he will be a huge asset to the Irish Football Association.  His experience as a player and a coach along with his knowledge and his ability to manage and implement coaching structures, will ensure that all our elite young players are identified and developed and in turn will bring through generations of international players for all our national teams”.