“I'm certain we are now at a pivotal point in women's football here because next year the licensing regulations for the WNL clubs are being completely revolutionised,” Galway WFC’s Ruth Fahy says about the future of the game in this country.
A passionate advocate of the women’s football Fahy is back in the west of Ireland, eager to make a difference, to help establish a club that is loaded with promise.
“It used to be quite an informal and flexible arrangement as far as I can understand to enter the league,” Fahy adds.
“Now UEFA has stipulated the clubs need to meet certain criteria to compete in their domestic national leagues so if they do qualify for the Champions League they have certain structures in place.
“Every club will need to be very good in terms of legal, financial, administrative, personnel, and sporting criteria. So clubs now are being forced to really analyse what types of structures their club runs upon.”
Possibilities most certainly exist, but there is a need to be pragmatic too. Ultimately investment will be required with Fahy stressing the importance of receiving financial aid.
“The clubs will not be able to progress without money and support,” she says. “I was reading about the strategic planning of the FAI which sounds amazing - admittedly ambitious - but amazing. Clubs, especially WNL clubs, will need a lot of help.
“Even help in how they set up or reach out for support in their own communities. It is going to be really interesting, but I think there is quite a lot of change happening.
“Money will need to be raised or given, something will have to give because it won't happen without that financial guarantee being in place first.”
Fahy initially played in the WNL as an emerging player for Castlebar Celtic before Galway WFC was formed. So she has watched the league develop.
“The league is better, overall it is definitely better,” Fahy replies. You have lots of different areas. Is it better in terms of on the pitch? Yes.
“Off the pitch then you have lots of ways to look at the game. Certain clubs I feel are doing things well, but a lot of clubs are still struggling. So it has been interesting, but it is a nine team league.
“You have no easy games, we have experienced that, drawing away to Treaty recently, we lost to Athlone. DLR are really pushing the top three in terms of results and in terms of competing on the pitch. Then the rest really any match could go any way any week.”
The biggest change, though, is the chances being afforded to young footballers. Fahy featured on successful Salthill Devon outfits, but now national underage leagues are available for elite players at U17 and U19 level.
“It is a totally different world, I'm so jealous of those who are 17 or 18 now coming through,” Fahy laughs.
“The best example I could give in terms of how far it has progressed is I moved to Galway when I was eight. I played soccer until U12s, then once I was overage for that the next step was senior. There was no U14, 15, 16, 18 or 20. So I played senior from 14, we weren't allowed play until we were 14. At that point the only time you would be exposed to Dublin players or teams in Cork was through Irish Cups which came around once a year and you could be unfortunate to be drawn against a really good side early on.
“Then you are gone and you don't get that exposure. What the national league does is week in, week out players are exposed to the best players in the country and that is the way players progress. You can't even compare. It is a completely new landscape for womens football which is brilliant.”
At the weekend news filtered out that the FAI CEO Jonathan Hill is currently holding talks about ensuring equal pay is provided for both the men's and women's senior international teams.
“It is absolutely huge,” Fahy responds. “I know the men's get €2500, the women's get €500. I always try to be realistic and reasonable about the concept of equal pay. I do think at international level it should be something really special about playing for your country - equal pay is something that should be considered at international.
“Obviously club is a different story - it is a lot more about economics and finance. It is really important because sometimes when you start something at the top it will trickle down. That is just one very small part, the senior international team, it is a tiny fraction.
“Most of that squad don't even play here, when you are talking about domestic football there is a lot more that needs to be addressed.
“How has it improved in terms of the structure domestically? That is hard to answer, it is something I'm still learning more about. I don't know all the ins and outs of every club, but I'm trying to learn about it by talking to people to understand how their clubs are running themselves.
“What we have in the Women's National League is some clubs are affiliated with men's clubs, they are able to operate at a certain level. Then you have other clubs, the likes of ourselves, who aren't connected with the men's side. We currently run as a sole club on our own, fundraising for ourselves.
“That is a hard thing. So much work has gone on. I know in terms of our own club in the background year upon year some very important names like Stephen Moran, Kieran O'Mahony, Padraic De Burca, and Eamonn Naughton are putting in huge shifts in the background to sustain the club.”
The thought of delivering a better future is what kept them going and believing. Galway WFC’s noble story is only starting to unfold, Fahy is making a rich contribution on and off the field.
