Further investment needed into women’s football – Carrigy

More facilities need to be provided for the increase in women playing soccer across Ireland, a Fine Gael Senator has said.

Senator Micheál Carrigy said that as the number of women playing soccer has been increasing, more investment is needed to ensure women and girls have the best opportunities within the sport.

“The FAI has stated that 27% more women are playing soccer across the country since 2022. 530 clubs offer women and girls football and there are 22,621 female players across the country.

“Football has evolved from a male dominated game to become a truly global game for all, with more people from more backgrounds playing and driving increased broader participation.

“Our female athletes and their coaches have been phenomenal at promoting the sport, and their hard work must not be impacted by poor facilities.

“The Ireland women’s football team compete at the highest levels against some of the top teams across the globe and are currently ranked 25^th in the world rankings.

“Yet the reality is that the vast majority of our sports’ facilities in Ireland have been originally designed and built with only male athletes in mind. This must be corrected to reflect the increasing numbers of women participating in the sport.

“Significant investment is needed in women’s football to deliver new facilities and ensure gender equality. In particular, we need a dedicated focus on changing facilities for women and girls, combined with greater access to playing pitches.

“Currently only 33% of clubs have female toilets. This is absolutely disgraceful and needs to be addressed so players are not deterred from participating.

“The development of new facilities, such as all-weather pitches and training centres will make it easier for female players to train and play at a high level.

“A new generation of women and girls need to be motivated and encouraged to play and with increased support we can continue this upward trend in female participation in the sport”, Senator Carrigy concluded.