Breaking down barriers for female coaches in Ireland
Thursday, January 23, 2025
Article summary
As women's football in Ireland continues to develop at all levels, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has taken proactive steps to educate, upskill and retain female coaches.
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From national youth team players to a FIFA Puskás Award nominee, aspiring female coaches from across the country have been taking part in women's only courses to secure UEFA licences.
This concerted effort to attract more female coaches into football came after the FAI conducted research into identifying and addressing the barriers that were preventing women from getting involved.
Breaking down barriers
"These barriers included access to courses, cost of courses, geographical location and time of courses, as well as the lack of opportunities coming from completing the courses," explains Niall O'Regan, head of FAI education and development.
"But the most significant challenge identified was the lack of role models in the game for them to see a career in football.
"We went about changing this and introduced a targeted approach to increasing the number of women's coaches at every level of the game. This was done through women's only courses at grassroots, UEFA C, UEFA B and UEFA Youth B Licence levels.
"This has seen us grow from ten women with a UEFA licence in 2016 to 330 women with UEFA licences as of December 2024."
Women have also been participating in the higher UEFA licensing courses with the FAI – in 2024, ten women took part in A Licence courses and a further five were part of the UEFA Elite Youth A course.
Such has been the rapid level of growth that, in 2024, more than 30% of participants across the FAI's UEFA licence courses were women.
The impact on aspiring female coaches
Tiegan Ruddy, current Bohemians player and former underage Ireland international, completed her UEFA B women's only course last year.
"The course really helped me step outside my comfort zone and take sessions and present under pressure," she says. "The knowledge I gained on and off the grass from my tutors and fellow peers will definitely make me a better coach going forward.
"The course has also allowed me to form great friendships and develop a network with coaches from across the world."
For grassroots football coach Amy Garrigan, there were many benefits from the course that she knows she can implement in a practical environment.
"It has made me more organised and helped me create more game-realistic structured training practices for my team," explained Garrigan.
"I have a better understanding of tactics and an overall better understanding of the role of the coach within the team's set-up. It has made me confident in group settings and it has given me the ability to instil that confidence into my players."
In addition to the UEFA licence courses, the FAI has also created multiple informal learning opportunities.
This includes a project where aspiring female coaches supported Ireland's team at the European Women's Under-19 Championship. During the final tournament, they carried out opposition analysis and gained valuable learning experiences.
Former Ireland international and FIFA Puskás Award nominee Stephanie Zambra (née Roche) was involved in a similar project with the Ireland Women's Under-17 team.
"I really enjoyed the experience of being in an elite environment with the best young players in Ireland," she explained.
"I learned a lot from James Scott [Women's U17 head coach] and his staff and I'm already excited to get back in with the squad in 2025. I really feel this experience will be useful to me as I progress on my coaching journey."
Apply for the UEFA Coach Development Programme
The UEFA Coach Development Programme for Women provides a path to obtaining UEFA-certified coaching licences through financial support and scholarships.
For more information on UEFA coaching courses and applications to take part in the UEFA Coach Development Programme, please contact your national football association directly.
Applications for scholarships for courses starting until 30 June 2025 close on 31 January 2025.