TOWARDS THE END of last year, familiar remarks concerning the future of Waterford football were rumbling in the air.
The senior team was without a manager following the departure of Ephie Fitzgerald, with no potential replacements in the offing. The uncertainty, with a new season approaching, paved the way for questions about the effort, resources and financial cost involved in maintaining a team that was showing little sign of progress.
Assurances were given that a team would be fielded, and that promise was honoured by appointing former Meath defender Paul Shankey as the new boss.
The Déise’s football faithful have faced this firing squad before. Consider the grim facts. No wins in the Munster senior football championship since 2010. Only achieved promotion from Division 4 for the first time that same year. No All-Ireland series win since the 2018 qualifier against Wexford. Just the one victory in the 2023 National League against London.
Player turnover is an annual problem too. Shankey recently revealed that they’ve lost between 10 and 15 players from last year’s squad. As for the underage grades, the cupboard is bare there too.
But then came an unexpected breakthrough. A defeat over Tipperary to end Waterford’s 14-year wait for a win in the Munster SFC. Finally a response for the doubters.
“What we’re trying to do with football is keep it topical within the mindset of the public,” says former Waterford manager Benji Whelan. He’s among the dedicated few who continue to fight for the right to play football in his county.
“It’s obviously second to hurling, I think everybody accepts that. And I don’t think there’s anyone [who's] not hurling in the county. Just because we’re football [does not mean] we’re anti-hurling.
“But we do believe there’s a place for football in the county set-up. And to maintain that position, this is a huge lift for that.”
That win over Tipperary, when you get the chisel out, wasn’t all that surprising. Waterford had played out a draw with Tipperary during this year’s league which proved they were close. The sides also drew in the 2022 league and when they met in the 2023 Tailteann Cup, Tipp only squeezed through by one point.
Another contributing factor was the downturn that has been afflicting the Premier footballers since their famous Munster title win in 2020. The nature of Waterford’s victory added to the occasion too, only registering their first score in the 31st minute through Stephen Curry before outscoring Tipperary by 2-6 to 0-3 to win by five points.
More recently, the county’s minor footballers fell just one point short of a victory over Clare. A win there would have added to the momentum, but knowing that they’re closing in on the competition is the prize for now.
“All we want to see are the shoots. We’re not expecting Waterford to win a Munster minor championship or anything like that. But if we see small steps, we’re getting further buy-in from parents, from clubs and potential coaches to come in and work with us. That’s what it’s all about.”
The result was a gift for the wider football community too, as some of the victorious Waterford footballers reminded us of what a win in the provincial championships is supposed to feel like. Tom O’Connell’s outstretched arms to celebrate his two goals in a tribute to Jude Bellingham, was the enduring image of the day. Blessed are the players undimmed by media training and the intensity of the spotlight.
“They’re real lads and they just tell it like it is,” says Whelan. “They go hard at it, give it what they have and speak that way too.”
Whelan was in charge of the Waterford footballers from 2018 and 2020 but he serves the county now through the academies and development squads. An academy, he says, has always existed in Waterford, but the model that that is now in its third year has firm structures in place to nurture the senior footballers of tomorrow. Strength and conditioning is one of the measures provided, as well as the hope that they can enter a combined schools team in the Corn Uí Mhuirí colleges competition in Munster.
They’re also committed to working along parallel lines with hurling rather than try to make football its competitor.
“The general mindset,” says Whelan, “is one which can be negative towards football, and this can be driven, to a good degree, by the national media. It can be passed on by people who don’t actually go and watch the games. That’s a wider problem for football. I fully accept that there can be games that can be hard to watch.
“You don’t see the scoring, certainly in Division 4, that you see at hurling matches. So, perhaps there is a question around entertainment. But the difficulty lies in getting people off their seats and getting them to the games.”
It’s hoped that they’ll start to see some product from those academies in the next three to five years. Improved performances at minor level that can be translated to the Waterford U20s, and eventually on to the senior team.
Their Munster semi-final against Clare on tonight is the more immediate business to attend to. A win would not only propel them to a Munster final. It would also ensure they play in the Sam Maguire competition this year.
But the ambition to grow football in Waterford won’t hinge on that result. Those who care will continue to push the rock up the hill.
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