Ballymena and provincial Intermediate Premier league. Too many people don’t like to see others better themselves, but we ignore that. After just a few months, the club had enough players to apply for the Belfast and District Football League. Free shipping on $79+ orders. Training morphed from what had been a rag-tag kickabout on Tuesday nights, to twice-weekly sessions before an 11-a-side game on Saturday.For a while, it seemed like they were growing too fast. When asked if he would recommend starting a football club, however, he is effusive.“If creating a local team can change one young person’s life and give them a chance through sport, then go for it. Thanks to the remarkable efforts of a determined community, however, they could be rubbing shoulders with Linfield and Glentoran in next to no time. Now, you see them kicking footballs, you see positive murals and art promoting mental health and the stars of the area”.Having started with just seven players, the club can now boast in excess of three hundred. After a series of promotions, the Swifts find themselves jostling for top spot in the Ballymena and Provincial Intermediate League, the equivalent of the 4th division in Northern Ireland.“Of course, our goal would be to take the team to the top” McCall says.“For a club that started just 8 years ago, it’s a bit of a fairy tale. It is the home of Conway Mill, too, a five-storey Victorian factory that’s been re-purposed into a community hub that heaves with cafés and education centres.Like the city itself, this area has a history of flourishing in spite of adversity.It was in this spirit that two men decided to start a football club in 2010. Ballymena and provincial Intermediate Premier league. There were multiple paramilitary shootings in the area as well as drug and alcohol abuse. West Belfast should feel like the worst place in Northern Ireland. McCall, combining his role as the club’s co-founder and treasurer with a place in central midfield, had no choice but to leave the training to Lindsay. If we can continue to at that pace and bring the youth through, then the sky is the limit”.A decade ago, this small club in West Belfast didn’t even exist. It was falling apart”.With their community crumbling and nobody doing anything about it, the men decided to take action.“Young people were standing on street corners and elderly people weren’t leaving their houses, so we thought we’d tackle it through sport”.The result was St. James’ Swifts, a football club whose main aim was to prevent anti-social behaviour by keeping young people off the streets.“Football seemed the best option because lots of the youngsters had a background in the sport, either in wanting to play or having done so before” McCall says.Things started small. St James' Swifts have announced the appointment of Pat McAllister and Barry Johnston as the club's new management team. We want to break barriers and to create friendships between different groups”.Despite its growing popularity, however, the Swifts still rely heavily on the efforts of their founders.“Without Damian and David and the club committee, this would never work” says McCall.“Everyone plays their part, no matter how big or small. As part of the arrangement, three of the Swifts’ teams travelled to England for a series of friendlies, raising cash and awareness for local suicide prevention charities.“With the suicide rate in the area rising, both club owners decided they could help tackle it by creating a strong link between the two clubs” McCall adds.“We’re just hoping to raise as much awareness as possible around it”.At just 24-years-old and with a full-time job in the Health Service, it’s a wonder that McCall even has the time to help the Swifts grow. They are what pushes everyone on to the best of their ability”.That camaraderie and passion might help explain the Swifts’ ongoing relationship with Billiericay Town. Add one in the admin panel. People from all across the community are uniting to fight problems like sectarianism and suicide in the right way. David McCartney, a former St.James’ resident and local businessman who had relocated to Essex, heard about the club and wanted to get involved.“He’d seen the chance to change the face of the community and return it to the great area it once was” says McCall.“He paid for our kits, our pitch rental costs and all of our training equipment”.Even the Irish Football Association mucked in, arranging for the club’s coaches to be put through the necessary courses and advising on how to deliver on its aim of reaching the Irish Premiership.Walking through the community eight years ago you would’ve seen people standing drinking on street corners, graffiti on the walls. We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Eleven of its nineteen districts make it into the top 10% for social and economic deprivation in the country, whilst the rates of crime, suicide and teenage pregnancy all soar above the national average. At times, it feels more like a movement than a football club.“We open our doors to all members of the community; all types of religions, genders and backgrounds. More importantly, they’ve given their area something to be proud of. St James Swifts F.C are a community football club based in the St James Area of West Belfast. The experienced pair recently parted company with Sport and Leisure Swifts. There are five dedicated female teams, as well as a side for those with disabilities.