Women's Development
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 eight 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
Dale Farm small-sided leagues: Played as seven aside matches and delivered on a regional basis.
Winter season: October - December
Summer season: March - May
Dale Farm Indoor Cup: Played as five aside regional qualifying tournaments the event concludes with the Dale Farm National Finals in December each year.
October - December
Carnegie Schools' Cup: Senior Competition
Played as an eleven aside knockout competition the event culminates in the Finals Day on Wednesday 10 March 2010.
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.
Dale Farm Taster sessions: These taster sessions are offered either during curriculum time or after school and are specifically targeted at schools that don't currently offer football to girls'.
Dale Farm Soccer Roles: Educational programme endorsed by Northern Ireland female international players who act as role models and go into schools to speak about football, training, and healthy lifestyles.
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
At junior level, the Irish FA is responsible for organising events for girls' under the age of 16. Events for this age group include the following:
Dale Farm small-sided leagues: Played as seven aside matches for under 12's and under 14's and delivered on a regional basis.
April - June
Dale Farm Indoor Tournaments: Played as five aside one day events.
September - March
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
2010 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 will kick off the next stage of their World Cup campaign at the end of March when they face France twice within five days. In their first encounter Northern Ireland will take on their hosts in Troyes on the 27th March before the return leg at Windsor Park on the 31st. It is seven years since the Northern Ireland women's team last played on the hallowed turf at Windsor Park and it will no doubt be a challenge that our girls' will be ready for.
Remaining World Cup fixtures include:
Sat, 5 Jun 2010 Estonia v. Northern Ireland
Sat, 19 Jun 2010 Iceland v. Northern Ireland
Wed, 23 Jun 2010 Northern Ireland v. Serbia
Sat, 24 Jul 2010 Northern Ireland v. Estonia
Sat, 21 Aug 2010 Serbia v. Northern Ireland
Wed, 25 Aug 2010 Northern Ireland v. Croatia
Under 15 Schoolgirls'
The Under 15 squad will travel to Scotland from the 12 - 15 April 2010 and will compete against Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in the Bob Doherty tournament.
Under 17
The Under 17 team will host the 4th UEFA European Women's U17 Championship from the 16 - 21 October 2010. Drawn in Group 2 against formidable opponents such as the Czech Republic, Republic of Ireland and Macedonia our girls' will be hoping to put on an impressive display in front of the home crowds.
Under 19
Drawn in Group 9 of the 10th UEFA European Women's U19 Championships Northern Ireland will travel to the Czech Republic to play against Romania, Czech Republic and Turkey from the 11 - 16 September 2010.
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
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