FA of Ireland launch new Women & Girls’ Action Plan

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She Kicks Magazine

·12 mars 2025

FA of Ireland launch new Women & Girls’ Action Plan

FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football, Hannah Dingley. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images)

A new Women & Girls’ Action Plan for Ireland has been launched as part of the FAI’s Football Pathways Plan.

Vidéos OneFootball

More girls are playing football in the Republic of Ireland than ever before, so the Women & Girls’ Football Action Plan aims to strengthen the foundations already in place so that the game can continue to grow.

The Action Plan aims to tackle the shocking statistics that only 11% of teenage girls in Ireland are meeting the recommended daily physical activity levels and that only 9% of women volunteer in football clubs. The focus areas for the Action Plan fall under three pillars participation, pathways and performance.

Participation – Keep girls playing football throughout their teenage years
Pathways – Have a woman on the Football Committee at every Grassroots club
Performance – Create high-performing environments specifically for female players

There are over 45,000 women and girls registered through the FAI Connect system, over 25,000 girls playing football in school, 800+ women engaged in the Coach Education pathway and more female referees than ever before.

With the Football Pathways Plan outlining a 12-year strategic vision for developing football for the whole game, the Action Plan will focus specifically on strengthening the foundations to unleash the full potential of women and girls’ football in Ireland.

The six goals have been set for 2025-2027:

Inspire – Provide recreational football for teenage girls in schools and clubs
Empower – Deliver leadership courses for young leaders
Build – Launch a Future Head of Football programme
Support – Provide individual development plans and mentorship
Develop – Review the women’s international pathway
Lead – Deliver research-informed programme specifically for elite female players

FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football Hannah Dingley told fai.ie: “I’m excited to launch the Women and Girls’ Football Action Plan, which is one of the key parts of the Football Pathways Plan, and will help bring women and girls’ football in Ireland forward on and off the pitch. The theme of the Plan is to Strengthen the Foundations. We have already seen a lot of progress, and there is so much excellent work being done at all levels of the game around the country, but there is more to do and we need to ensure that we have the foundations strong enough to support the long-term growth of the game.”

FAI Chief Football Officer Marc Canham said: “It is great to see the launch of the Women and Girls’ Football Action Plan. The development of a plan specifically for Women and Girls’ football is one of the 11 priority actions from the Football Pathways Plan and is essential in continuing the momentum around women and girls’ football.”