The Minister for Sport addressed League of Ireland academy funding in remarks to the Dail on Wednesday.
Ireland Head Coach Carla Ward(Image: INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
Charlie McConalogue sparked an important debate on Wednesday when he addressed League of Ireland academy funding on the floor of the Dail.
These are exciting times for football in this country, as the first appointments to new roles – made possible by an unprecedented and much-needed level of Government funding – are set to be made.
According to the Minister of State for Sport: “The first appointees will be in position before the end of this month with others coming on stream throughout the year.”
This is genuinely a landmark moment for Irish football, a sport that for so long has lacked the structures necessary to compete with rivals across Europe and beyond.
The Government’s commitment in the last Budget to invest €3million on a multi-annual basis gives the game here an opportunity to finally develop an industry capable of developing talent on a regular basis.
Up to now, it’s been a combination of tireless volunteer work and sheer luck that a Robbie Keane, Roy Keane, Damien Duff, Troy Parrott or Evan Ferguson has come along.
This has left Ireland in a situation where we are playing catch-up with the rest of the world of football.
Along with Minister McConalogue’s acknowledgement of the upcoming appointments was a reminder of another area in which the game here needs big improvements.
In a week when Bundesliga side Union Berlin have made history by becoming the first club in any of Europe’s top-five leagues to appoint a female head coach, Marie-Louise Eta, McConalogue pointed to a lack of female participation in the application process for the League of Ireland academy roles.
“The FAI,” he said, “do wish to highlight one area of concern. The number of female applicants across both roles was low, with a total of six applications received [out of 300], representing approximately 2 per cent of the overall applicant pool.”
Four of the six were ruled out straight away as they did not have the required coaching qualifications, while only one made it through the FAI’s interview process – former Wexford coach Yvonne McGrath.
Minister of State for Sport Charlie McConalogue in Prague for the World Cup play-off semi-final(Image: INPHO/Ryan Byrne)
“The association have engaged with Sport Ireland on this matter and have provided feedback gathered from potential candidates who chose not to apply, to better understand the barriers that may exist,” McConalogue continued.
“While it is encouraging that one woman applicant was successfully appointed to the academy director panel, this remains an area that requires focused attention.”
Credit to the minister for amplifying the FAI’s concerns and bringing them into the public sphere, where on Friday the media was able to get the thoughts of Ireland head coach Carla Ward on the issue of bringing more female coaches into paid and high-profile roles – and into the men’s game.
Ward could easily have given a simple stock answer (along the lines of ‘the more the merrier’) and few would have begrudged her that.
After all, as she pointed out when pressed again on the issue, there was the small matter of Ireland’s World Cup qualifier against Poland on which to focus.
But she doesn’t want the advancement of female coaches into men’s football and the professional game to simply be a box-ticking or a quota-filling exercise.
“I’m big on the best person for the job. Is this a great move for the future female coaching? Yes,” Ward said of Eta’s appointment.
“But there is still a big but; we have got to make sure that these positions aren’t forced because going back to that piece on the lack of females in the men’s game, what you don’t want to do is force something too quickly and that one or two early ones fails, because it’s a chicken and the egg, right?
“Because if the first one goes in and fails, people are going to be reluctant, whereas the right person goes in, they might not be reluctant.
“So it’s really important that you get the right person for the job in both the men’s and women’s.”
As for raising the number of female applicants for the new League of Ireland academy posts, Ward asked: “What’s the pathway like?
“That would be the first question. Is there enough from grassroots up, in terms of an open and available pathway for them?
“I think that’s where it’s got to start. And I’ll be honest, it’s a conversation for another day, because my focus right now is on Poland.
“But look, I think there’s got to be a pathway. But being really honest, I can’t even get my brain on these conversations without being rude to you both, because right now my focus is getting out there and facing Poland. But we’ll come back to it, between the camps!”
The pathway issue is crucial. The FAI, through feedback from qualified females who opted against applying for an academy role, revealed the same.
Most of those with the required badges are in permanent employment – some within the FAI – and are not willing to leave that for the relative insecurity of a three-year contract.
The Government got the ball rolling last year with its Budget announcement, and Minister McConalogue kicked it on with his remarks in Leinster House this week.
But when it comes to developing a thriving national industry in this country, one that can provide secure employment for males and females, we’re just kicking off.