Women & Girls Plan Launched For FAI Football Pathways

With more girls playing football in the Republic of Ireland than ever before, the Women & Girls’ Football Action Plan will Strengthen The Foundations already in place so that the game can continue to grow.

Aligned with the Football Association of Ireland’s Football Pathways Plan, the Action Plan will help create an encouraging, empowering and exciting football ecosystem for women and girls across the country.

The Action Plan aims to tackle the shocking statistics that only 11% of teenage girls in Ireland are meeting the recommended daily physical activity levels and that only 9% of women volunteer in football clubs. The focus areas for the Action Plan fall under three pillars participation, pathways and performance.

Participation – Keep girls playing football throughout their teenage years

Pathways – Have a woman on the Football Committee at every Grassroots club

Performance – Create high-performing environments specifically for female players

Building on the legacy of the Ireland Women’s National Team competing at the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup, there are over 45,000 women and girls registered through the FAI Connect system, over 25,000 girls playing football in school, over 800 women engaged in the Coach Education pathway and more female referees than ever before.

With the Football Pathways Plan outlining a 12-year strategic vision for developing football for the whole game, the Action Plan will focus specifically on strengthening the foundations so that we can grow the game and unleash the full potential of women and girls’ football in Ireland.

The six goals have been set for 2025-2027:

Inspire – Provide recreational football for teenage girls in schools and clubs

Empower – Deliver leadership courses for young leaders

Build – Launch a Future Head of Football programme

Support – Provide individual development plans and mentorship

Develop – Review the women’s international pathway

Lead – Deliver research-informed programme specifically for elite female players

FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football Hannah Dingley said: “I’m excited to launch the Women and Girls’ Football Action Plan, which is one of the key parts of the Football Pathways Plan, and will help bring women and girls’ football in Ireland forward on and off the pitch. The theme of the Plan is to Strengthen the Foundations. We have already seen a lot of progress, and there is so much excellent work being done at all levels of the game around the country, but there is more to do and we need to ensure that we have the foundations strong enough to support the long-term growth of the game.”

FAI Chief Football Officer Marc Canham said: “It is great to see the launch of the Women and Girls’ Football Action Plan. The development of a plan specifically for Women and Girls’ football is one of the 11 priority actions from the Football Pathways Plan and is essential in continuing the momentum around women and girls’ football.”