Member's statement: Bloomfield Football Club
Member's statement by Mr David Brooks on .
- MLA
- Mr David Brooks
- Party at the time
- Democratic Unionist Party
- Date
- 3 June 2024
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Bloomfield Football Club
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 4492889
Read the official Assembly record
Text
I rise to mark 30 years of Bloomfield Football Club, the history of which can be traced back further still, having evolved from the 24th Old Boys, which came out of Bloomfield Presbyterian Church and played in the first division of the Old Boys League that was established in 1958. Many will know that the Old Boys teams were associated with Boys' Brigade (BB) companies and their respective churches. As the number of players in the 24th Old Boys with links to the church and the BB fell, it was decided to formally end that association. It was then, 30 years ago this year, that Bloomfield Football Club was born. Unable to continue in the Old Boys League, it joined the Northern Amateur Football League, in which its senior men continue to play today from its base at Houston Park, part of what is known to most locally as Orangefield Park. Today, Bloomfield Football Club is more than just one team. Indeed, in player participation, it is the largest community football club in east Belfast and one of the biggest in Northern Ireland, with 37 junior teams alongside four senior teams, which now include a women's team, and there are plans to add further female teams this year. I attended the club's annual junior fun day and awards ceremony at Orangefield on Saturday. The park was full, with hundreds of children and their families relaxing and picnicking in the sun and having fun on the inflatables. The day typified the community and family focus of that wonderful club. I congratulate the committee members, coaches, players, parents and volunteers, past and present, on this landmark. I look forward to working with them on their big plans for the future and, indeed, celebrating with them this Saturday evening.
296 words. Text as published by the Northern Ireland Assembly.
Assessment
Jev’s structured answers met the documented threshold for “not flagged”.
- Overall probability that the activity is being used to promote, exploit or escalate an identity-based controversy: 0.03 (flagging needs at least 0.70; at or below 0.30 is not flagged).
- None of the five culture-war criteria was met (each was below 0.60).
- No identity-based framing was identified (0.98).
- Subject area: Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice).
- The overall probability was at or below the not-flagging threshold.
This is an AI-generated assessment of the text, made against published criteria. It is not a finding of fact about the MLA or their intentions. The Assembly record itself is the fact.
Jev’s structured answers
| Question | Probability | Met? |
|---|---|---|
| Identity framing | 0.04 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.03 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.03 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.03 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 0.98 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.02 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Religion and belief (including people of no religion), churches, faith communities and religious prejudice (including antisemitism and anti-Muslim prejudice) | 0.63 |
| Sport (including the GAA), the arts and cultural bodies | 0.34 |
| Sectarianism, hate crime and community relations | 0.02 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.01 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 10:28 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
Disagree with this assessment?
Classifications can be challenged. A person reads every challenge, and any change is recorded publicly above with its reason.