Curtin praises huge benefits of WNL

Ex-Cork Women’s FC and Republic of Ireland senior international Marie Curtin has stressed the importance of competing in the Bus Éireann FAI Women’s National League for any player on Leeside and further afield with ambitions of progressing their career in the game.

Curtin, originally from Kilmallock, joined Cork for the commencement of the Bus Éireann FAI WNL last November but decided recently to take another step up the ladder by signing for full-time semi-professional Norwegian outfit FK Fortuna Alesund, a club that compete in the Women’s First Division.

However, speaking candidly this week Curtin was in no doubt as to why she has been able to fit seamlessly into the FK Fortuna Alesund way of life stating that her time spent playing for Cork in the inaugural season of the first senior national women’s soccer league in Ireland aided her development as a player “10-fold” from her period as a regional player in the Treaty County.

“It’s great to be able to play to a new highest level in Ireland because as women’s soccer players we were crying out for a league like it for so long. Just getting the chance to play with and against the best players in the country was a huge step forward for me as a player, it probably has helped me progress 10-fold really.

“It’s so, so important for any player in Cork, or anywhere in Ireland for that matter, to play in the Bus Éireann FAI WNL if they have serious ambitions of going on to play semi-professionally or professionally.

“The new national league is like a major bridging point between playing locally and going on to play at the very, very top level.

“There are many opportunities out there for young women’s soccer players which makes the national league such a great stepping stone towards all of those even greater opportunities,” Curtin suggested.

Curtin was a vital cog in Cork’s wheel, especially from a defensive perspective.

Her central defensive partnership with Republic of Ireland U19 international gem Emma Farmer was the main foundation for Cork’s third-placed finish.

However, she felt the time was right to move on in an attempt at bettering her career further.

“For financial and footballing reasons I decided that I wanted to go and play abroad in an environment where I could train every day or even twice a day.

“The players here (at FK Fortuna Alesund) think it’s strange that we didn’t train every day when I was playing back home. I really wanted to be in that full-time training environment to push my career on even more if I could.

“I updated my soccer CV with details of the Bus Éireann WNL, sent them off to clubs, got a call and it all went from there.

“I met up with the team on a training camp in Turkey and was surprised by how high the standard actually was. Everything is going well really though so I am really happy to be here,” she added.