FAI chief executive David Courell has confirmed that financial restraints, due to a €40 million debt, mean there is no plan to revive centralised training sessions for home-based women players.
Regular gatherings at Abbotstown were initially introduced by former Irish manager Colin Bell in 2018 and continued by Vera Pauw, to maintain a link between League of Ireland players and the international set-up.
Instead, Courell pointed to plans in 2025 to “treble” coaching time for the most talented girls aged 14 to 18, but that project will be funded by money previously used to run the disbanded Emerging Talent Programme.
“The [Ireland] coaching set-up have a really good connection with the league, a lot of them were involved in their own careers so they are observing games on a regular basis,” said Courell of Eileen Gleeson’s management that includes record caps holder Emma Byrne and former Cork City men’s manager Colin Healy.
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“Please know that the talent is being scouted.”
Julie-Ann Russell is the only home-based player selected by Gleeson, but the Galway United striker has been forced to train with local boys club Salthill Devon to stay in shape for Friday’s European Championships play-off against Wales.
Former Athlone Town manager Ciaran Kilduff and Peamount United captain Karen Duggan have repeatedly highlighted that a disconnect exists between the clubs and international set-up.
“And that is undeniable,” wrote Duggan last month. “The people running the two are just on different sides of the hallway at FAI HQ in Abbotstown, but they’re miles apart.
“The ditching of the home-based sessions, which gave players in our league the chance of making it to the senior international squad, and the failure so far to replace them with the much talked about under-23 set-up, has, as Kilduff said, left players feeling like they’re not being seen.”
Courell responded: “With regard to the under-23s, it is an ambition of the association, but we have to look at everything in the round. We are weighing up all the different initiatives we want to achieve. Is that going to happen immediately? No. Is it still something we want to strive for? Yes. Do I have a timeline for it? Unfortunately not.”
He added: “Financial is certainly a barrier.”
Ireland must beat Wales over two legs, on Friday in Cardiff and Tuesday at the Aviva Stadium, to secure a place at Euro 2025 in Switzerland.
If they qualify, Katie McCabe’s team will sit alongside Jack Charlton’s men squad backing up a strong showing at Euro 88 by reaching the quarter-finals of Italia 90. No other senior Irish side have reached back-to-back big tournaments.
If Wales progress on Tuesday to next summer’s 16-team tournament, the focus will switch to why the association gave interim head coach Eileen Gleeson an 18-month contract after Ireland topped Nations League B in December 2023.
The previous January, Gleeson was appointed as the FAI head of women’s and girls’ football. That role was filled in April by Hannah Dingley, who is not due to present the latest strategy for the women’s game until next year.
On Gleeson’s future employment being dependent on qualification to the Euros, Courell added: “I think Eileen has done a fantastic job and at the end of this campaign we will sit own with her and decide what is next.”
