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“Women’s soccer is a relatively young sport in Ireland, nevertheless it has shown tremendous growth in terms of both numbers playing and technical ability in recent years.
Both FIFA and UEFA have recognised the potential for development of the women’s game and international competitions at both senior and underage levels have existed for quite some time.
The most recent innovation introduced has been the UEFA Club Championships which is now a feature of the annual UEFA calendar.
The winners of the WFAI Cup final will be the Irish representatives in this prestigious competition.
This will mark the participation of a new club, with Shamrock Rovers and UCD previously holding this honour.
Last year was the first occasion on which the WFAI Cup Final was staged as a curtain raiser to the Carlsberg FAI Cup Final.
I think its fair to say that the match changed a number of perceptions about the standard of the women’s game in Ireland and it was gratifying to hear positive comments about the skills and commitment of the players on the day.
This year, I am delighted that the FAI has decided to repeat the experience and I am confident that the competition this year, which has been closely fought, has yielded a final, which is deserving of this stage.
Dundalk FC were finalists last year but were beaten by UCD on the day. This year, however, they have grown into a more impressive outfit and a consistent force in the premier Division of the Dublin Women’s Soccer League.
Peamount Utd are an exciting young team who are hoping that the Cup final provides the opportunity to build on their significant successes at underage level.
Both teams boast a number of players who have already achieved representative honours for Ireland at underage level and many of these will be ambitious to build on that and play for the national senior squad.
The year 2005 will go down as a significant year in the development of the Women’s game in Ireland.
The FAI has launched a Development Plan for the Women’s game as part of its Technical Development Plan.
Noel King has been appointed as the first full-time Manager to the Women’s Senior Team and he also heads up the Women’s Development Unit in the FAI’s Technical Department.
The FAI has recently been awarded funding under the Government initiative to increase the participation of women in sport and, with the development of Women’s Soccer now firmly on the FAI agenda as a priority item, it appears that this year could be the start of a truly exciting time for the women’s game in Ireland.”