This week we speak to Sinéad Gunning. Sinéad hails from County Cork in the Republic of Ireland. She has been a pivotal member of Open Access since 2019 and has supported many club initiatives including the Renaissance men’s team lockdown training sessions. She is a wellbeing rep and long standing OA committee member also.

Many players in OA would have had their first CCFC interaction through Sinéad’s secretariat duties (along with our other wonderful volunteers). Sinéad leads by example and helped set the tone for the current 11s Development team, through her encouragement and support to new and returning players.

She was voted Players’ Player of the Year in 2024 and Management’s Player of the Year, in 2021/2022. Beloved by all, Sinéad is one of the kindest people you could meet, but make no mistake – on the pitch she displays the Roy Keane-esque grit and resilience that Corkonians pride themselves on.

How did you get involved with OA?

I’ve actually returned to football twice through OA!

In 2019, I started working at a school in Stoke Newington alongside the inimitable Julie Leaff. At the time I was really into long distance running and was looking for a new running club to join. Julie told me not to bother with running 🤣 but to join her OA football sessions that she had set up with her friend Ellie.

Julie’s persuasive Mancunian charm worked, and a week later I went along to my first session and honestly never looked back (I also never joined a running club).

I ended up playing with the first Clapton 5s team and fell in love with football again. Soon after that, a few of us moved on to play for the Development team (now known as Reserves) and I had such a great season playing with them. I took some time out to have my son in 2022 and when I felt ready to return to football, I just knew that I couldn’t commit to playing competitively yet.

Julie encouraged me to come back to OA and her and Ellie really looked out for me in those early post-baby days. I felt extraordinarily lucky to have been able to return to football at a time and pace that worked for me.

When the OA committee were setting up an 11s team, I tentatively told Ellie I felt ready to play 11s again but was still unsure about how much I would realistically be able to play. Ellie was so supportive and listened to every foible I had while also coaching me back to full footballing fitness. We ended up winning the league and having my son watch on from the sideline in the final felt like a true full circle moment!

What advice would you give to players starting out at OA now or returning to football?

Ellie and Julie always say OA is not a place for P.E trauma, so if it’s bad memories holding you back from playing the beautiful game, then you’ll be pleasantly surprised by the atmosphere at OA. Similarly, if you really want to get back into playing competitively, OA can be such a great stepping stone for dusting off the cobwebs and finding the right team and opportunities for you. For me, OA represents such an important community of footballers and everyone has their own story for how and why they joined.

Dream 5-a-side team

GK Emi Martinez
DF Katie McCabe
MF Roy Keane
MF Kiera Walsh
FW Vivienne Miedema