Member's statement: Ards Rangers Inclusion Football Tournament
Member's statement by Ms Kellie Armstrong on .
- MLA
- Ms Kellie Armstrong
- Party at the time
- Alliance Party
- Date
- 30 June 2025
- Type
- Member's statement
- Business
- Members' Statements
- Heading
- Ards Rangers Inclusion Football Tournament
- Assembly identifier
- Official Report component 5042662
Read the official Assembly record
Text
Something fantastic happened on Saturday. I had the absolute pleasure of attending the first-ever Ards Rangers Inclusion football tournament at Londonderry Park in Newtownards. My thanks go to Claire Coney and Mark Smith, who made the arrangements for the tournament. The tournament was made up of young people, boys and girls, playing football, who had autism and different disabilities. You could see the smiles and the joy on all their faces. The final match in the older age group ended in penalties, which was incredible. Of course, Ards Rangers came out on top, fortunately. Thank you to all the teams that travelled, such as Glentoran Inclusion FC, Linfield, Monkstown, Larne, Dungoyne and many others that I am sure that I have left out.
It was a wonderful occasion that showed how taking a collegial approach to football can result in a tournament that makes such a difference to young people's lives. If they were to try to compete in any other league, they would be left out. The skills that I saw on Saturday, from the tiny players right up to the older gentlemen aged 16, were incredible. The young people are a credit to each of their clubs and to their families, who stood in their hundreds to watch on Saturday. As I said, it was a wonderful event. I thank them very much. Praise goes to Ards FC Inclusion for setting it up.
235 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 (1.00).
- Subject area: Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits.
- 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 | 0.06 | No |
| Sectarian or communal antagonism | 0.01 | No |
| Cultural grievance politics | 0.02 | No |
| Dog-whistle messaging | 0.02 | No |
| Controversy escalation | 0.02 | No |
| Legitimate policy scrutiny | 0.06 | No |
| Overall judgement | 0.03 | At or below not-flagging threshold |
| Option | Probability |
|---|---|
| No identity-based framing (chosen) | 1.00 |
| Reports or questions it | 0.00 |
| Criticises or condemns it | 0.00 |
| Adopts it | 0.00 |
| Subject | Probability |
|---|---|
| Disability (including neurodivergence and mental health), disabled people and disability or sickness benefits | 1.00 |
| No identity-related subject | 0.00 |
| Flags, emblems, symbols, names and memorials | 0.00 |
| Parades, bonfires and commemorations | 0.00 |
| Irish language, Ulster-Scots and language policy | 0.00 |
Assessed 21 October 2026 at 12:57 UTC by jev-1.13.0 (requested as typesafe/jev) under rubric 2026.10-r9, methodology 1.9.
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