Emma Duffy Reports from The Mansion House

THE FAI HAVE launched a two-year women and girls’ football action plan, which aims to improve participation, pathways and performance from 2025 to 2027.

FAI Head of Women’s and Girls’ Football Hannah Dingley unveiled the plan, which is aligned with the Association’s 12-year Football Pathways Plan, at Dublin’s Mansion House this evening.

It aims to tackle alarming 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. 

Over 45,000 women’s and girls are registered as playing regular competitive football in Ireland.

“Strengthen the foundations” is a tagline of the action plan, which has three key pillars:

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

The six goals are as follows:

• 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

“Instead of going for another big strategic document for another long period of time, it felt more natural to have a shorter action plan with key measurables that we can do within a reasonable amount of time,” Dingley explained during her presentation. 

“It’s more agile, it’s more nimble, we can adapt with changes to the women and girls’, and general ecosystem of football in that time. We are integrated in terms of our approach to women’s and girls’ football and it isn’t an isolated action plan.”

Ben Brady / INPHO Ben Brady / INPHO / INPHO

“If we’re going to continue to grow, we need to get the basics right,” added Dingley, speaking to the media for the first time since her appointment almost a year ago.

“Once we have strong foundations, we’re able to grow the game and ultimately release the potential. It’s a bit like building houses without having doctor’s surgeries and schools. We don’t want to start building the top levels of the game until we’ve got the grassroots, more girls staying in the game, more coaches, more administrators and referees.”

Details on targets and aims were somewhat vague, however, while finances will continue to prove a challenge for the FAI.

The Association remains committed to establishing a second tier in the Women’s Premier Division, while a development group was recently introduced to help bridge the gap from the domestic league and underage international football to senior level.

FAI Chief Football Officer Marc Canham, who was not present at the launch, commented in a statement: “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.”

Dingley began her role as FAI Head of Women and Girls’ Football last May, succeeding Eileen Gleeson who had taken charge as Irish women’s national team head coach.

The Englishwoman was previously Academy manager of Forest Green Rovers, where she became the first woman to manage an elite English men’s team when in interim charge in 2023. 

• You can read the FAI’s women’s and girls’ action plan here>