Women Leading The Line
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Question: Which Republic of Ireland international has won nine English Premier league titles, eight FA Cups, four League Cups and a UEFA Cup?
The answer is of course Emma Byrne and despite the heroics of the lads of Shamrock Rovers FC last week, the real superstars of Irish soccer will be female for the foreseeable future.
Women’s soccer has been the fastest growing sport worldwide for the past five years and UEFA projections estimate the same number of females will be playing the game globally as males by the end of 2012.
That is some statistic and the revolution is no less buoyant in this country than it is anywhere else.
In fact, so big are the strides that have been taken in Ireland since the launch of the FAI’s Women’s Development Plan back in 2006, gone are the days where ambitious female players had to leave these shores on US soccer scholarships or to ply their trades in English clubs, in order to fulfil their real potential.
Now women’s soccer is a leading sport in this country, despite what some blinkered and ignorant members of the sporting media here may think.
Women’s sport has always had to battle for even the crumbs of the sports column inches and alas, I don’t see that changing hugely anytime in the near future.
I mean there are some members of the sports media who scoffed and sniggered at the recent achievement of Peamount United who recently became the first ever Irish soccer club to qualify for the business end of a UEFA competition.
Their successful exploits in getting out of a tough qualifying group, as one of the best runners-up, to progress to the last 32 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League is no mean feat.
The comparison in terms of media coverage for their achievements to the blanket (and deserved) coverage awarded to the men of Shamrock Rovers, who qualified for the group stages of the Europa League, was notable.
Now don’t get me wrong, it was a pleasant and refreshing change to see a positive domestic soccer story dominating the headlines and inside pages but the discrepancies were very obvious.
However, I feel that battle will be an on-going one that may take a little more time to negotiate from the trenches. In the meantime, the forward march by women’s soccer will continue aplomb as the very talented underage players in this country begin to bear fruit at senior level.
The Republic of Ireland senior women’s team are ranked at 31 in the current FIFA world rankings having dropped three places from 28th, (but they haven’t had a competitive fixture for a full year now). Interestingly, that puts Sue Ronan’s side on exactly the same FIFA ranking as Giovanni Trapattoni’s men squad who have climbed two places to 31st spot.
So there’s no distinction between the senior squads at senior level and for the first time the game domestically will move to a more level playing field when the new National Women’s League kicks off this November.
The first ever national league for women is a crucial development in the game here and is something I will discuss in greater detail at a later date. And while I believe great advances have been made at underage level also, I still feel soccer clubs have more work to do in terms of schoolgirls soccer.
However, where the greatest distinction exists, is in opportunity.
If the ambition of playing international football or playing in Champions Leagues is one harboured by a talented schoolboy in this country, he knows if that dream is to become a reality he will, at some stage, need to leave his friends, family, roots and comfort zone in order to try to make it abroad.
That is not the case for schoolgirls though. They can stay in their own localities, with their own friends, in their own schools (which has to enhance the chances of being the best they can be), get their education and still can have serious and realistic ambitions of playing in national leagues, European football competitions and ultimately, playing for their country in European Championships and World Cups with realistic ambitions of challenging for the trophies.
Last year the Republic of Ireland U17 girls dazzled all who were bothered enough to take an interest in them as they reached the European Championship final and only lost out on scooping the trophy by losing out in a penalty shootout to champions Spain who just couldn’t shake them off in normal or extra time.
They then went on to reach the quarter-finals of the U17 world cup in Trinidad & Tobago where they eventually lost out to Japan. Spain were the only other European side to go further in the competition than the Irish.
The girls that played in those competitions go to Irish schools, play for Irish clubs and live in their own communities. The level of coaching in the girls’ game is also improving and more crucially, the starting age for girls playing soccer is much younger now.
While media outlets and the general public may take another while to have their interests sparked by the women’s game here (unless of course it involves jersey swapping – yeah, yeah we’ve heard it all before), you may find other sporting bodies will be quicker to pay attention.
The GAA, the Irish Hockey Association, the Irish Athletics Association to name just a few will have some serious competition for talent on their hands.
Women’s soccer will continue to grow in this country and eventually people will have to take notice. Especially so when the answers to pub quiz questions - like the one I mentioned at the start - will continue to be female names.
The answer is of course Emma Byrne and despite the heroics of the lads of Shamrock Rovers FC last week, the real superstars of Irish soccer will be female for the foreseeable future.
Women’s soccer has been the fastest growing sport worldwide for the past five years and UEFA projections estimate the same number of females will be playing the game globally as males by the end of 2012.
That is some statistic and the revolution is no less buoyant in this country than it is anywhere else.
In fact, so big are the strides that have been taken in Ireland since the launch of the FAI’s Women’s Development Plan back in 2006, gone are the days where ambitious female players had to leave these shores on US soccer scholarships or to ply their trades in English clubs, in order to fulfil their real potential.
Now women’s soccer is a leading sport in this country, despite what some blinkered and ignorant members of the sporting media here may think.
Women’s sport has always had to battle for even the crumbs of the sports column inches and alas, I don’t see that changing hugely anytime in the near future.
I mean there are some members of the sports media who scoffed and sniggered at the recent achievement of Peamount United who recently became the first ever Irish soccer club to qualify for the business end of a UEFA competition.
Their successful exploits in getting out of a tough qualifying group, as one of the best runners-up, to progress to the last 32 of the UEFA Women’s Champions League is no mean feat.
The comparison in terms of media coverage for their achievements to the blanket (and deserved) coverage awarded to the men of Shamrock Rovers, who qualified for the group stages of the Europa League, was notable.
Now don’t get me wrong, it was a pleasant and refreshing change to see a positive domestic soccer story dominating the headlines and inside pages but the discrepancies were very obvious.
However, I feel that battle will be an on-going one that may take a little more time to negotiate from the trenches. In the meantime, the forward march by women’s soccer will continue aplomb as the very talented underage players in this country begin to bear fruit at senior level.
The Republic of Ireland senior women’s team are ranked at 31 in the current FIFA world rankings having dropped three places from 28th, (but they haven’t had a competitive fixture for a full year now). Interestingly, that puts Sue Ronan’s side on exactly the same FIFA ranking as Giovanni Trapattoni’s men squad who have climbed two places to 31st spot.
So there’s no distinction between the senior squads at senior level and for the first time the game domestically will move to a more level playing field when the new National Women’s League kicks off this November.
The first ever national league for women is a crucial development in the game here and is something I will discuss in greater detail at a later date. And while I believe great advances have been made at underage level also, I still feel soccer clubs have more work to do in terms of schoolgirls soccer.
However, where the greatest distinction exists, is in opportunity.
If the ambition of playing international football or playing in Champions Leagues is one harboured by a talented schoolboy in this country, he knows if that dream is to become a reality he will, at some stage, need to leave his friends, family, roots and comfort zone in order to try to make it abroad.
That is not the case for schoolgirls though. They can stay in their own localities, with their own friends, in their own schools (which has to enhance the chances of being the best they can be), get their education and still can have serious and realistic ambitions of playing in national leagues, European football competitions and ultimately, playing for their country in European Championships and World Cups with realistic ambitions of challenging for the trophies.
Last year the Republic of Ireland U17 girls dazzled all who were bothered enough to take an interest in them as they reached the European Championship final and only lost out on scooping the trophy by losing out in a penalty shootout to champions Spain who just couldn’t shake them off in normal or extra time.
They then went on to reach the quarter-finals of the U17 world cup in Trinidad & Tobago where they eventually lost out to Japan. Spain were the only other European side to go further in the competition than the Irish.
The girls that played in those competitions go to Irish schools, play for Irish clubs and live in their own communities. The level of coaching in the girls’ game is also improving and more crucially, the starting age for girls playing soccer is much younger now.
While media outlets and the general public may take another while to have their interests sparked by the women’s game here (unless of course it involves jersey swapping – yeah, yeah we’ve heard it all before), you may find other sporting bodies will be quicker to pay attention.
The GAA, the Irish Hockey Association, the Irish Athletics Association to name just a few will have some serious competition for talent on their hands.
Women’s soccer will continue to grow in this country and eventually people will have to take notice. Especially so when the answers to pub quiz questions - like the one I mentioned at the start - will continue to be female names.
About Lisa Fallon
Lisa Fallon is a radio sports journalist currently reporting for FM104 and TodayFM. She previously worked as sports reading anchor/reporter on 98fm and Newstalk before moving to Cork for three years where she was a … View Full Profile