Women’s football flying in Arklow

WOMEN’S soccer is in a very healthy state in Arklow Town FC with the busy club now boasting teams at every level in the Wexford Women’s and Schoolgirls League following a recruitment drive.

‘As part of a club initiative, we have been working to increase female participation in the game and we are currently looking to grow our number of dedicated girls’ underage teams,’ said Arklow Town FC secretary Dave O’Shea.

‘Over the past six to seven months, we have held free open training sessions and participated in many friendly games with neighbouring clubs, with the number of girls attending training and matches growing week on week.

‘Based on the current participation levels, we have now registered four new teams (under-10, under-12, under-14 and under-16) to play in competitive league football in the Wexford Women’s and Schoolgirls League in due to commence this month (on hold due to Covid-19 restrictions).

‘They will join our returning under 18 team in the league, giving us a presence at all age groups. We hope this will give us a solid platform to develop further teams during the year, including preparing a women’s team to compete in the 2021/2022 season.

‘To support our initiative, we have also been working with the Sport Ireland 20x20 campaign, a national initiative which aims to create a cultural shift in our perception of girls and women in sport by increasing visibility and ultimately participation. We became an official club member of the 20x20 campaign earlier this year,’ added Dave.

For more information on playing women’s football in Arklow Town FC you can find them on Facebook or email atfcsecretary@ gmail.com.