Ireland has opportunity to capitalise on women’s soccer

Entering team in WSL might stop talent drain from here

IRELAND soccer legend Olivia O’Toole says it is time for the FAI to think big.

The evidence may be only anecdotal but there’s reason to believe more soccer clubs were formed in Ireland in 1966/67 than in any other entire decade —in the wake of England’s World Cup victory in 1966.

England won the 1966 World Cup, England women won the 2022 Euros: this could be Year One for the women’s game here.

O’Toole, whose 19-year Ireland career brought 54 goals (and the best Ireland soccer picture — her peeling away celebrating her 50th goal, against Italy) sees England’s win as Ireland’s opportunity.

“It is all very well saying someone like me was watching every minute of every game,” says the Ireland (1991-09) winger/striker.

“I would be watching every minute of every game wouldn’t I? And so would a lot of people I know because I’ve been in football all my life, since I was playing on boys teams!

“But I really sat up and took notice when the figures came out that 17.4 million people had watched England

Germany in the final.

“That’s not just people who are involved in the game, that is a whole bunch of young girls, teenagers who are going to go back to school and go down to their local park wanting to play football.”

Maybe the slogan ‘If they can’t see it, they can’t be it’ has taken on a new resonance because, this season, the English WSL is going to be the place to be seen, their matches the ones to watch. against

Professional

The Women’s Super League (WSL), sponsored by Barclays and which replaced the FA Women’s Premier League in 2011, has 12 professional teams and comes under the auspices of the FA.

This season, funnily enough, is the first season in which the notional ‘Big Six’ clubs are all taking part, Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester

United and Spurs being joined, at last, by Liverpool.

This comes by way of the Niamh Fahey-captained Reds and with her fellow Ireland international Leanne Kiernan as top scorer gaining promotion from the Championship.

“The FAI and the Government and the National Lottery need to understand the chance for all levels that is coming Ireland’s way,” says O’Toole.

“At one end the

Ireland international team, against the odds, have been doing brilliantly and have battled their way to having a chance at

World Cup qualification next month.

“I can’t say enough about the job their coach Vera Pauw (inset) has done with that team.

“And I believe the improvement has come from having her and her coaching staff being paid full-time, with the money, as far as I know, coming from sponsors, such as Sky and TnaG.”

Sponsor

Sky Ireland are, for instance, the Ireland Women’s international team’s first standalone sponsor. Furthermore, a Sky WNT Fund has been set up to provide a minimum €25,000 this year to assist five WNT players with their academic studies and career development off the pitch. O’Toole notes the League of Ireland structure might benefit from becoming an All-Ireland league and, maybe, there is a decision to be made about entering a team in the