The Irish Football Association welcomed members of the Romanian Humanity Project to the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park this week.
Young women from the project, which is run by Limestone United, met players and staff from the Romania senior women’s team ahead of their UEFA Women’s Nations League game with Northern Ireland.
Project participants, who are from interface areas in north Belfast, will visit Romania later this year.
Limestone United has developed the cross-community Romanian Humanity Project in the past two years. It uses the power of football for shared learning and shared experiences. The men’s section of the project visited Romania through Finding Hope Ministries to help create a street soccer pitch in Strada Lunga in Brasov.
Brian Caskey, Project Lead, said: “We had the privilege of hosting Romanian young people in Northern Ireland in 2024, visiting local football clubs and the Irish Football Association, which hosted the group, to share opportunities for the future.
“Local girls from both traditional communities were delighted to visit the National Stadium to speak with members of the Romanian team and launch the women’s section within the Limestone United Romania Project. They are preparing to visit Romania in October 2026 and host a ladies football cup in the town of Cisnadie.
“Sport has played a pivotal role in bringing both traditions together at the Limestone Road interface and to hear about the journey of the players from Romania can only but inspire us to build friendships in Romania and unite us in common goals of understanding and peace building.”
He explained the young women were excited to watch Northern Ireland play Romania on Tuesday night, adding that members of the group appreciated the support they have received from the Irish Football Association.
Mark Dennison, Community Engagement Manager with the Irish FA Foundation, said: “It was a privilege to facilitate a visit to the stadium for the group.
“They are involved in a fantastic project with Limestone United and our partnership provided the opportunity to meet players from the Romanian senior women’s team and speak about their experiences.
“I would like to thank players, staff and officials from the Romanian Football Federation for making the visit possible and we look forward to supporting the project in the future.”
