Soccer fans at Tallaght Stadium may have set a new Guinness World Record for consecutive penalties on 29 February – but it could be weeks before the result is confirmed.
A missed penalty by participant number 1,401 brought proceedings to a halt after seven hours on a rare day drenched in warm sunshine at the home of Shamrock Rovers.
But that figure almost doubled the previous record of 742 consecutive penalties set last July by Major League Soccer in the United States.
Official confirmation of the record could take up to four weeks, but organisers are confident that all rules and regulations were strictly adhered to.
“It’s actually €5,000 to get someone from Guinness World Records to attend to verify the record, which is a lot of money,” said Brendan Maguire of the organising committee. “Because this is a charity event, we wanted to raise money for charity.”
To that end the team brought in Magnum Events – a veteran of Guinness World Records attempts – to record video evidence, as well as a team of independent verifiers headed by FAI referee Tommy Traynor.
“We are confident we’ve broken the record,” added Maguire. “We’re delighted – I’m over the moon!”
The challenge was first mooted last September as a way to mark the 40th anniversary of the College Football Association of Ireland (CFAI) in 2012.
“We decided we weren’t just going to do it, we would do it for charity,” said CFAI chair Pádraig Carney. “With Sports Against Racism Ireland (Sari) being very good friends and Brian Kerr a former member of the CFAI, a former national coach and a member of the board of Sari, we decided to do it for them and for the National Children’s Hospital of Tallaght.”
Brian Kerr was indeed on hand to launch the event, along with IT Tallaght president Pat McLaughlin, Junior Minister Brian Hayes and Dublin South-West TD Seán Crowe. They were joined by volunteers from Sari and the National Children’s Hospital, most of whom were helping from 7am on the day.
A maximum of 30 seconds was allowed between each penalty but that posed no problems for the hundreds of participants. Pádraig Carney had the pleasure of taking the record equalling penalty, but it was former Irish international Ray Houghton who had the honour of taking the record breaker.
The day had a “phenomenal meaning to Sari”, said the group’s volunteer co-ordinator Kerrie Clohissey.
“The amount of funds that have been raised… is amazing. The money that goes to us today will go to many different reasons within Sari, not just for sport but for integration.”
Former Nigerian soccer star Zuby Ufoh, now working as a coach with Sari, was also glad not just to see such an event take place, but to be part of it as well.
“Apart from the money, the most amazing thing was seeing these people coming from all walks of life – kids, adults, from different schools or offices – people coming in and taking part is lovely. You see a smile on everybody’s face, everyone is happy and I like that.”
The organisers were keen to offer special thanks to Tallaght Stadium manager Nicole Coffey, who provided the venue free of charge, and the local schools that provided the bulk of the penalty shooters: St Aidans, St Marks and Old Bawn Community Schools, St Annes Primary School, St Dominic’s National School and SN Naomh Columcille.
A total of almost €10,000 was raised for the two chosen charities with IT Tallaght’s St Vincent de Paul donating €1,000 alone to the National Children’s Hospital.
“It’s great for the kids,” said Maguire. “This is an event they will remember.”
