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ANTHONY FORDE
Ballingarry AFC starlet Anthony Forde began pre-season training with English Premier League side Wolverhampton Wanderers on July 2009 to become the first player from the schoolboy ranks of Ballingarry AFC to make the move to the professional ranks overseas.
The Ireland schoolboy international began training with Wolves youth team and played with their under 16 side.
Anthony who had just sat his Junior Certificate in Colaiste na Trocaire, Rathkeale when he moved, is a son of Noel and Christine and has one brother Kevin and a sister Leanne who both played football with Ballingarry AFC.
“We are delighted, it’s a great honour for Ballingarry AFC and the Limerick Desmond Schoolboy league” Anthony’s father Noel explained.
While Anthony had played for Ireland under 15s he also had 8 caps for the under 16 side by the time he moved to Wolves.
While a host of English clubs showed an interest in Forde with visits to Blackburn Rovers, Derby County and Aston Villa it was Wolves who won the race for his signature.
Ballingarry AFC Chairman Pascal Moynihan was loud in his praise for the player.
“Anthony has played with Ballingarry since he began to come to the pitch as a five year old and has played with the club all the way up along”, said the club Chairman.
“This is fantastic for him and for our club, he is a very talented young man and as well as that he is a lovely boy and has a great attitude".
His club manager from his earliest days at the club John Clancy, said "You could see from the earliest point that the boy had a talent for the game, this coupled with a truly fantastic attitude made him stand out on the field. I have no doubt that Anthony will progress to the top and I expect him to wear the green of Ireland at senior level in the near future.”
.: Player Profile:
Born: November 16 1993.
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Makes his debut for Ballingarry AFC under 10 sides during season 1998/99 aged just six. (Click on small images to view pop-ups) |
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His career continues with the 10s through the 2001/02 season... |
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...to the 2002/03 season... |
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...until he finally gets his first winners medal with Ballingarry AFC when the LDSL Division 1 title in 2003/04 |
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Anthony got his first taste of “International” football at the tender age of 10 when he was part of the under 10 and 12 Ballingarry teams that hosted Damascus Stingers from Maryland USA in a test series hosted by Ballingarry AFC. |
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More “International” recognition followed in April 2004 when he travelled with Ballingarry AFC to Maryland USA for a return series against “The Stingers” |
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The Under 11 cup final of 2004/05 brings his second winners medal in the Green and Gold of Ballingarry AFC when the cup is secured in May 2005. |
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His next visit to the winners enclosure was in May 2006 when his Ballingarry side lifted the under 13 cup at Clonreask. |
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By now he was a major part of the LDSL Under 13 Kennedy Cup squad having already captained the side in a Munster final he would receive a winners medal with the squad in June 2006 from the Shield 2 success. |
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No medals for Forde at under 14 level |
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In fact honours wouldn’t return for him with the club until season 2008/09 when he was part of the Ballingarry side that completed the under 16 and under 17 cup double... |
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...where his performance won him the man of the match award |
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2009 has proved a huge year in his life. In addition to being awarded the LDSL under 16 player of the year award he also received the Ballingarry AFC under 15 player of the year award |
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While moving to Wolves is of course a major step in his life he also played at three different age groups for the Republic of Ireland |
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He debuted for the under 15s against Wales and played against Northern Ireland in the Tri-Nations tournament in May while in the under 16s he made his debut against Serbia in the Gradisca Tournament in Portugal |
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Anthony in action in an Ireland shirt for the U17s |
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Anthony in action against Brandon Davies (left) and Aaron Phillips in the Under 16 International Friendly against Wales at Whitehall, Dublin on August 28th 2008 |
| Then in August he was called up to the under 17 squad, while still just 15, for the Syrenka International Cup in Poland where he played against Sweden in his debut (2/9/09) and Romania (4/9/09). Finally on August 19th 2009 Ballingarry AFC said goodbye to Anthony Forde with a function in his honour at the Woodlands Adare which was attended by the club officials, his family and team mates where the club made a presentation of a laptop to the player. | |
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Anthony receives award from Chairman Paschal Moynihan on his selection as Wolves Academy Player of the Year 2010-11. |
During September 2009 Forde enjoyed a scoring debut with Wolves under 16 side when getting the equaliser in a 3-3 draw with Derby County. Unfortunately he also sustained a foot injury that restricted his movement, however it didn't keep him out of the side for the next game.
He has made steady and impressive progress and has settled well.
October 2009 Update:
After recovering fully from the foot injury sustained in September it was back to business with Wolves 16s side and a trip to Qatar to take part in the Aspire Academy invitational tournament.
He played a part in both games which unfortunately they lost before returning to Wolverhampton where he featured against both Bolton Wanderers and Stoke City.
During his mid term break he returned home to Ballingarry to attend the clubs 25th anniversary dinner in Adare on October 25th.
November 2009 has proved to be a month of activity for Forde seeing him feature in several games for Wolves.
He scored a goal as Wolves beat Everton (2-1) and featured against Manchester City (loss) Liverpool (lost 4-0) and Crewe (won 2-1). He was also called into the youth squad for the FA youth cup defeat at Liverpool (2-0).
He finally signed on his sixteenth birthday for Wolves and they are now awaiting the return of his registration. He had settled well at college while he had remained injury free.
December has proved to be a barren month for Anthony Forde as the weather has insured that all activity on the pitch was suspended. The highlight for the lad was coming home for the Christmas period, spending ten days in Ballingarry with his family.
Anthony continues to make progress at Wolves where he has just broken into the clubs reserve team. Having signed scholarship forms at the club during the Summer he has since made two appearances in the reserves. Against Everton he came on for the last twenty minutes and last Tuesday (September 14th 2010) he made a fifteen minute appearance against Liverpool in a 2-0 defeat at Prenton Park.
In his latest outing, Anthony scored a cracking consolation goal for the Wolves reserves in the Birmingham Senior Cup. A full match report and photo of Anthony are located here on Wolves' website.
Anthony played the full 90 minutes for the Wolves reserves during their 1-0 loss at the Hawthornes against West Brom on November 16th last. He was on the scoresheet during Wolves Under 18 premier league 3-2 away win At Crewe Alexandria where he scored the second following a strong run.
Anthony Forde has been called up to the Irish under 19 squad for the friendly double header against Croatia on February 8th and 10th next. This is the first occassion that the former Ballingarry schoolboy and present Wolves reserve had got the nod for the 19s.
Anthony Forde made his Under 19 international debut in Umag on 10th February 2011 when the side recorded a 2-1 victory against hosts Croatia. Forde was involved in both Ireland goals first after ten minutes when he was part of the move that lead to Conor Smith giving Ireland the lead and then in the 23rd minute when his corner was headed home by Eoin Weaner. He saw 83 minutes of action before being replaced. This was the second friendly that the side played against Croatia following a 1-1 draw in the first game on Tuesday a game in which Forde saw no action.
Anthony Forde played 75 minutes of the Ireland u-19 friendly against Cyprus in Larnaca on Saturday last (26-3-11) during the 0-0 draw. The squad are preparing for next May's UEFA elite stage qualifiers. Forde impressed during his latest appearance for the team before being substituted.
Anthony Forde has been named on the Republic of Ireland UEFA U-19 squad to compete in the elite group phase in Poland this month May 2011. They will play against Poland, Italy and Ukraine with the group winner to compete in the finals in Romania in July. In addition Forde has been voted Wolverhampton Wanderers U-18 academy player of the year (2010-11).
Anthony Forde has helped Ireland qualify for the UEFA U-19 finals to be held in Romania in July. Forde played in all three Elite Group qualifying games against Poland (Tuesday May 24) which they won 1-0. Then on Thursday May 26th he again played a full part in the 0-0 draw with Ukraine while in their final game against Italy the had a glorious 3-0 win with Forde playing the first half. This is a major achievement for the team and in particular Forde.
Ireland Under 19 manager has called Anthony Forde into his squad for the Under 19 UEFA finals in Romania in July. The team will play against Greece, The Czech Republic and finally Romania in the four team group. In addition Anthony signed professional for Wolves on July 1st.
All associated with Ballingarry AFC were left feeling extremely proud as Anthony Forde played a major part in the Republic of Ireland Under 19s progress to the semi finals of the U-19 European Championship in Romania last week (July 29th 2011).. Ballingarry schoolboy product Forde played in all four games that the team contested and performed with distinction against Greece in the 2-1 win (20-7-11), Czech Republic in the 2-1 loss (23-7-11), Romania in a 0-0 draw (26-7-11) and finally against Spain in the 5-0 semi final loss (29-7-11). Photos below.
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Also in August, Anthony made his senior Wolves debut in the 2-0 friendly win against Real Zaragoza on Saturday August 6 2011. He replaced midfielder Matthew Jarvis in the 72nd minute with manager Mick McCarthy full of praise for the player following the game. He was also given his own squad number which will be number 37.
Anthony made his full debut for Wolves away against Northampton Town (Tuesday Aug 23rd 2011) when he was introduced in the 85th minute in the 4-0 Carling Cup 3rd round win.
Anthony Forde has been named in the Irish under 19 squad that will travel to Bulgaria between October 6th and 11th to compete in the UEFA 1st Phase qualifiers. Paul Doolins squad are grouped with Bulgaria, Bosnia and Russia with the top two progressing to the elite qualifying phase.
Anthony Forde scored his first Ireland goal when he found the net in the 88th minute against Bulgaria in the Under 19 1st phase qualifying game (October 6th 2011) during an emphatic 4-1 against the hosts.
Not for the first time has Ballingarry AFC been the first to achieve within the Limerick Desmond League. Be it the purchase of their grounds, the development of an Astroturf facility or providing ballboys for an international game Ballingarry AFC has always been ahead of the posse. So it will come as little surprise to those that know their local football that the club has now become the first club within the Limerick Desmond Schoolboys League to see a former schoolboy make his English Premier League debut.
The club and parish of Ballingarry were extremely proud when Anthony Forde made his league debut for Wolverhampton Wanderers against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge last Saturday when he replaced Ronald Zubar for the final fifteen minutes of the game. This has been a wonderful season for the popular Ballingarry boy. Already he has played for Wolves in the Carling Cup game away at Northampton Town while he has been steadily accumulating international caps at under 19 level for the Republic of Ireland while playing at the finals of the EUFA U-19 competition in Romania last July. He also played a major part in Ireland qualifying for the elite phase of the group qualifiers of that competition when he played in all three group games in Bulgaria last October where he scored two goals, his first against Bulgaria was also his first for Ireland.
If that wasn't enough he signed professional with Wolves on July 1st this year. It has been a roller coaster year for the boy following his selection as Wolves Academy player of the year at the end of last season, the first Irish boy to win this award at Wolves. Let’s hope the dream continues for the Boy from Ballingarry. To follow Anthony Fordes career log onto www. Ballingarryafc.com
On December 27th 2011 Anthony Forde made his full English Premier League debut when he was named in the starting eleven against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in front of 59,686 spectators. Forde played 71 minutes before being substituted by Guedioura, by then he had hepled Wolves secure a point after Steven Fletcher (38 mins) equalised Gervinhos early Arsenal goal (8 mins).
He made his full home debut for Wolves on January 2nd 2012 when he started against Chelsea. He was substituted at half time in the 2-1 defeat.