Overview of Girls' and Women's Football in Northern Ireland

The Irish Football Association has invested heavily in the development of girls' and women's football in the last nine years and has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of players participating in the game during this time. With three full-time members of staff the key activities of the department include the following areas:

Post Primary Schools' Football

Small-sided leagues: Played as seven aside matches and delivered on a regional basis.
Winter season: October - December
Summer season: March - May

Indoor Cup: Played as five aside regional qualifying tournaments the event concludes with the National Finals in December each year.
October - December

Schools' Cup: Senior Competition
Played as an eleven aside knockout competition the event culminates in a Finals Day.

U13 and U15 Competitions
Played as seven aside regional qualifying tournaments at under 13 (Year 8/9) and under 15 (Year 10/11) and concludes with the National Finals in June in each year.

Club Football

Club football in Northern Ireland is divided into two separate areas, namely, junior and senior. Senior club football is organised under the auspices of the NIWFA (www.niwfa.org) and is organised into seven leagues including:

Premier League
Championship
Division One
Division Two
Division Three
Division Four
Reserve League

Centres of Excellence

The Centres of Excellence provide 190 girls aged 11 - 16 years of age with quality coaching on a county basis. These players are identified from a number of sources including schools' football, junior football and the NIWFA clubs. In total the players receive 24 weeks of coaching.

International Football

2011 is a busy year for the various Northern Ireland squads and there will be plenty of opportunities to see our girls' play on home soil.

Senior team

The senior women's team is currently involved in the UEFA Women's Euro 2013 qualifying campaign.  CLICK HERE for information on fixtures and results.

Under 15 Schoolgirls'

The Under 15 squad won the 2011 Bob Doherty tournament.

Under 17

The Under 17 team hosted a UEFA European Women's U17 Championship qualifying round mini tournament in October 2011 involving England, Israel and Finland.

Under 19

The Under 19 team qualified for the second round of the UEFA European Women's U19 Championships.  The draw for the next round will take place on November 15.

For information about girls' or women's football please do not hesitate to contact
Alfie awylie@irishfa.com
Sara sbooth@irishfa.com
or Jackie jblyth@irishfa.com