GLL marks 10 years in Belfast with largest ever sports foundation intake

GLL, the charitable social enterprise that operates Belfast’s 16 leisure centres under its Better brand in partnership with Belfast City Council, has marked the 10th anniversary of its arrival in Belfast with a ceremony reflecting on its decade in the city and honouring the 158 GLL Sport Foundation recipients for 2025 in Belfast, the largest ever intake for the foundation in the city, amounting to over £115,000 of investment.

Lady Mary Peters was one of several guest speakers at the event held in Belfast’s City Hall, in recognition of the partnership work the Mary Peters Trust has undertaken during the past decade with the GLL Sport Foundation in the support of local athletes.

Over 1,200 Belfast athletes have been supported by the GLL Sport Foundation since 2015, equating to over £700,000 in financial contribution. 57% of athletes supported by the foundation are aged under 21, 23% are under the age of 16, and 38 sports are supported including Olympic, Paralympic and Commonwealth Sports.

While the programme is fully inclusive of all sports, the foundation has supported notable local sporting success stories such as international hockey player Shirley McCay, Ireland’s most capped sportswoman in any sporting code, multiple Paralympics gold medallist Dr Michael McKillop, and Olympian boxer sibling duo Michaela and Aidan Walsh.

Other speakers at the event hosted by broadcaster Pete Snodden included Lord Mayor of Belfast, Cllr Micky Murray, Belfast City Council Chief Executive John Walsh, foundation ambassadors Shirley McCay, Dr Michael McKillop, Aidan Walsh, David Tumilty of the Public Health Agency, and GLL representatives Gareth Kirk, Jacqui Pope, and Tony Wallace.