Underage development key to making sure World Cup 2023 isn’t a one-off for Ireland

THE flood lights have been turned off and a historic year for Irish women’s football came to an end with a 6-1 victory over Northern Ireland at Windsor Park, a result that means the team has gone six for six in the Nations League.

The Girls in Green keep breaking records and creating their own history, with that performance in Belfast following a historic first appearance at the Women’s World Cup over the summer, a tournament held up as a turning point for the sport over the viewership and sponsorship accumulated over a few weeks in Australia and New Zealand.

It’s all over now and attention turns to Euro 2025.

Now, with everything settled, how will the last 12 months be remembered at home, by the people who experienced everything firsthand? What moment will be placed aside Packie Bonner’s penally save in 1990 and Ray Houghton’s strike against Italy at Giants Stadium in 1994?

It doesn’t have to be a goal, it could be the feeling attached to walking down the steps at the Aviva Stadium for the first time and seeing the Republic of Ireland WNT warming up on the former site of Lansdowne Road for the first time, or getting up at the crack of dawn for the game against Australia with a level of excitement matched only by Christmas morning?

Those quickly become part of a grand piece of nostalgia that forms a lifelong fascination with the Republic of Ireland, the same way the myth of the Boys in Green formed over a few summers led by Jack Charlton.

The household names are now Denise O’Sullivan and Megan Connolly instead of David O’Leary and Ronnie Whelan. 

Their faces – once of Cork Women’s FC and College Corinthians – are on the walls of the kids bedrooms after they spent a summer on the couch watching women’s football.

The most important question is what’s next for those who brought women’s football forward by qualifying for a first-ever Women’s World Cup?

The point about investment into the game has been well made. That conservation has been outlined through various opinion pieces, interviews in the media, and occasional mention by politicians.

Details are what’s important in the long run and making sure there is a talent pool to pick from, with a focus on a clear pathway to senior football from the underage squads. 

That’s where the likes of O’Sullivan, McCabe, and Connolly came from and it is where the next generation of Irish players need to emerge if the country wants to remain competitive.

CONSISTENT

Eileen Gleeson – who was in charge of the national team during the Women’s Nations League – more or less admitted this while speaking to the media in Belfast after the 6-1 victory over Northern Ireland.

“The story is continuing,” she said. “I keep saying the longer-term aim is Euro 2025, World Cup 2027 - having consistent qualifications for those tournaments with these talented players coming through.” 

Her words are to the point; the most important thing for women’s football is a clear pathway to the senior team.

The U19s are the next group waiting to break through and they are currently into the second phase of the qualifying tournament for the next edition of the European Championships. Below them are the U17s and they were recently relegated to League B in the qualifiers for their version of the Euros.

Winning doesn’t matter at that level – those are developmental tournaments designed to get players used to the pace of playing games in a confined space and working with a specific set of instructions in a competitive environment.

Those international camps are the foundation in making sure a moment isn’t just a moment and the Republic of Ireland remain in the conversation for a place at future editions of the Women’s World Cup and the European Championships.

Everyone knows about great teams that had one run and fell apart in the immediate aftermath as players got older and entered the autumn of their careers. 

The Republic of Ireland men's team experienced that in the years following their appearance at the 2012 European Championships as age began to show on players like Shay Given, Damien Duff, Robbie Keane, and John O’Shea.

A generational gap was exposed during the qualifiers for the 2014 World Cup, and it led to serious conversations about the future of youth development in Ireland. A chance to rectify mistakes of yesteryear is on hand and crucial to that is maintaining a pathway. 

The WNT are now looking at strengthening it, by bringing through the likes of Abbie Larkin, Ellen Dolan, and Erin McLaughlin from various underage development squads.

As things stand, that’s the only way to make sure eternal summers in front of the television in a green jersey will become a regular thing.