Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MOORE TO COME
Lauren excited about her new IFA role and is focused on getting young girls coming into the game to love it for life
AS women’s football goes from strength to strength across Northern Ireland, huge steps are being made behind the scenes to make sure the progress carries on.
And with major changes off the pitch as well as on, the future looks bright.
Lauren Moore – one of the Irish FA’S two new female participation officers – says her focus is making sure new recruits, starting at just four years old, learn to love the game for life.
Just back to work after having her second child, a little girl called Madison, Lauren said: “I’ve just come back to work this month and it’s exciting to have this new role.
“We really want to build a strong foundation for young girls to have the best introduction to football they can.
“We want more girls at the base of the player pyramid so more end up in the clubs and right through the player pathways. The idea is we want to encourage life-long participation in a sport they love.”
And while going back to the work wasn’t easy, the challenge of the new job has taken the edge off for Lauren.
“It’s hard coming back to work after nine months off with Madison but this role is so exciting,” she added. “It’s much needed and we really believe it will have a long-term impact on the sport.
“I’m thinking of what football will be like when it’s Madison’s turn to get involved in the game in four years – and I know there will be even more opportunity by then.”
And while Lauren, who is supporting Electric Ireland’s Game Changers campaign, didn’t play for a team as a young child, she hopes girls these days have an easier route into the sport.
“I played from a young age but it wasn’t until I was 12 that I joined a team,” said Lauren, 30. “I used to stand and watch my younger brother playing for our local team wishing I could play but this wouldn’t happen now because of how far football for girls has come already.”
The Newtownabbey mum says the best thing about the sport is the impact it has on the lives of young players.
“I love that it’s so much more than a game, it creates the opportunity for children to build on their confidence and make friends impacting positilvely in other areas of their lives,” she said.
As well as encouraging kids to sign up to the sport, Lauren continues to play too and after two seasons away she’s back in the squad at Carmoney Athletic.
Her love of football has now become a real family affair.
“My biggest fan has to be my two-year-old son Kayden,” she said.
“He loves going along to his mummy’s football matches but I think it may be because of all the attention he gets from the team.”