Wake Up and Smell the Coffee - Womens Football is here to stay

We're fast approaching the dawn of a historic World Cup for Ireland with their appearance at the event for the first time. Excitement has been reverberating throughout the nation since Barrett's big-toe finish in Hampden back in October. This goal has the potential to have the single biggest of any goal in Irish Football history, particularly for Women's Football. Mind you? That's only if they're given a chance to unearth real change. The goal will also forever be a poignant reminder of the Creeslough tragedy, given Barrett's emotional celebration.

However, as the sleeps to the World Cup begin to be counted down like a child restless for Christmas, it would be remiss of me not to reflect on the state of play of Football in Ireland, which I am afraid leaves a lot to be desired. Tuesday, the 4th of April 2017, will forever be a day sown into Irish footballing history. An embarrassing but necessary day as our WNT hit out at the FAI for their substandard treatment, being forced to share tracksuits and change in toilets. It's scandalous that this was the reality so recently which prompted 13 of our WNT supported by the PFAI to speak to the media in protest.

Fast forward to 2023, they're no longer sharing tracksuits, changing in toilets, equal pay has been secured, and we're in a World Cup. That's great, and all because they were all overdue, but to be honest? It's all surface-level b*******, and it means nothing without enacting bigger change. That change? That change comes at Women's National League level. A league I've only started to follow in the last two seasons, but it's certainly worthy of a lot more attention and investment than it's currently getting (more in that in a bit). 

Cork City are my local club; I've followed the men's team sporadically and with varying degrees of care since about 2016. But being honest, I've never been able to fully warm to the club; I mean, I love Football, Irish Football and controversially, in the mind of some people, Manchester United, and I have for as long as I can remember. Apologies if that makes me a casual or any less than you so-called "LOI Diehards", but hey? I think I do my bit for Irish Football, on the whole, all the same.

However, the one thing that I've always found some sort of affinity with at Cork City is the academy side of the club. No matter who or what figurehead or entity has run this club, the one thing that the club has always thrived at is producing talent out of its academy system. From Long and Browne in the past, McCarthy and Ogbene more recently and Honohan and Whitmarsh presently etc. etc. etc.

I think maybe that's why the Women's side of the club has captivated my interest more in recent times, particularly since Danny Murphy came in as manager in May 2022. The current women's team is built almost entirely from academy players, partially by design due to the staggering talent being produced (I'm sure) but also out of complete and utter financial necessity. The examples of non-CCFC Academy players involved in the squad?

Becky Cassin – Gone to France

Erika Manfree and Anna Costello– Gone Back to America

Finally, Hannah Walsh and Aoibhinn Donnelly? It is my understanding that they're UCC students, so when college finished recently, an accommodation/commute issue arose. Given their non-involvement recently, I can only assume that the club were unable/unwilling/not in the position to help; call it what you want. The point is they're now unavailable for selection until college commences again in September. Two starters, by the way. Faye Ahern is the only squad member right now (that I'm aware of) from a non-CCFC Academy background, and she's a Cork native. 

Thus, it's no surprise then that when Danny Murphy came into the club that it would be a project, a process, and patience would need to be practised before we could have any semblance of the squad's real potential. After all, the so-called Senior/Experienced players in the squad are all essentially in their early twenties! (If even). Thus it's no surprise that their league form just hasn't come together yet for them, but it certainly has in the Avenir Cup. 

This All-Island competition was a welcome addition to the calendar by my reckoning, and it's something I've advocated for on the men's side of things also, and hopefully, this competition is just the start. The competition was certainly welcomed by CCFC Women, and after being drawn in Group D with Crusaders, DLR Waves, and Treaty United, it was certainly seen as "winnable." Win the group was exactly what they did with the young squad winning three from three in  their group before unfortunately missing out in the Semi-Final, losing to Cliftonville 1-0; the competition was still a sign of better days ahead for this side. 

Throughout the competition, CCFC Women had to contend with making two long trips up North which meant they had to stay overnight. Now while it's fantastic that the squad was facilitated to stay overnight for those excursions, it's the bare minimum to be expected and doesn't even remotely constitute actual investment. However, in fairness to CCFC, Danny's pivot to Head of Women's Football, the first of its kind in the country, is an exciting step for the women's side of things with the integration of the first team and academy sides, the club certainly deserves kudos for that. But from the perspective of being a CCFC fan, part of me worries that this Avenir Cup  "success", albeit relative, could be used as an excuse that investment isn't needed rather than an excuse for investment; I do hope I'm wrong.

Alas, despite Ireland's pending debut World Cup appearance and the potential of our National League, there remains this hilarious disconnect between reality and the powers that be. The competition hasn't even commenced, and it's already getting unbearable. Posturing politicians jumping to their three-minute condescending soliloquy's and their pompous photo ops that'll seemingly never actually translate into proper government support. 

Discussion regarding the funding of Football in Ireland is a never-ending cesspit that never ends up going anywhere. But while we're on the topic, the Prize Fund for the current Women's Premier Division? €52,000, no, that's not for winning it, it's the total which goes from  €12,000 for 1st to €2,000 for 10th. The prize money for winning the Division wouldn't cover the cost of buses for CCFC for a season. The prize money for the Avenir Cup? The grand total of €0. How does the FAI expect the Women's Domestic Game to grow with essentially no funding? How? I'd love to ask them that. 

With the return of Shamrock Rovers this season following their withdrawal at the end of the 2013-14 season. The idea being propagated in some quarters that Shamrock Rovers have moved the needle for women's Football in Ireland is honestly a meme itself with severe irony. I'd also 100% question the sustainability of the investment. But at the same time, one can't deny they're putting their money where their mouths are, this is where other club owners, government officials, and fans could certainly learn to take a leaf out of their book on some level. Don't get me wrong; I must reiterate that it's not about going tit for tat with Shamrock Rovers for investment. I don't believe that approach is sustainable either, certainly not for the rest of the league anyway. But it's all about doing more, giving more, and investing more so we can enact fundamental change. 

On the international side of things, funding is marginally more fruitful (if you reach that level); the Irish WNT players are guaranteed at least €28,000 each from FIFA for competing at the World Cup. Additionally, while I'm uncomfortable with the concept of being paid to represent your "country", given past controversies. Part of me can get behind the women receiving the €2,000 per match because they need the money a lot more than the men right now. It does bother me, though, that a three-game international window could potentially cost the FAI more then the entire €52,000 league fund. I'm sorry, even if the girls are deserving, it seems like crackhead accounting for now, while our National League has such a poor prize fund, but hey, that's just me. 

At the end of the day, it comes down to personal responsibility, for everyone. If we want the women's game to grow, too, that goes for anyone, whether it be those already involved, or those new to the game. Fans can no longer sit on their hands and expect the government to come and support their favourite league and sport without intensive and relentless lobbying. Furthermore,  Owners can no longer sit idle and ignore entire sections of their football club just because it doesn't fit their agenda or just because it may not be financially beneficial to do so. This isn't true; by the way, women's soccer is the fastest-growing sport in the world. 

I could continue and mention the importance of creating an environment for girls and your daughters to prosper and flourish in sports, I could make this into a gender thing, but I won't because gender doesn't come into it now one bit. This is not a gender thing; these girls are deserving of more support because they are athletes in their own right. 

World Cup Squad members and Cork Women Megan Connolly and Denise O'Sullivan have shown a glimpse of the potential that is coming out of Cork and is now sprinkled across Ireland and around the globe, playing for other clubs and even other sports rather than playing for Cork City Women. Inaction will only wash for so much longer before the glass ceiling is shattered one way or another. The scenes of Denise O'Sullivans World Cup send-off are just a snippet of what can be achieved and who can be inspired when these girls are supported.

It's about everyone just doing just a little more, no matter what your level of support is now; take what you do now and just increase that; start with  5% and build from there and together, we can change a lot of lives, for the better.