Collie O'Neill labels lack of funding for women’s League of Ireland ‘outrageous’ (2024)

COLLIE O’NEILL shrugged off the jibes from rivals — but said the lack of funding for the Women’s Premier Division pes him off.

The Shamrock Rovers women’s manager is preparing for Saturday’s Avenir All-Island Cup final against defending champions Galway United at Tallaght Stadium.

It is the Hoops’ first decider since returning to senior women’s football last year when they put a few noses out of joint in the transfer market.

And O’Neill admitted that the final is important to the club, particularly for those who put in work behind the scenes to bring back the women’s team — and received criticism from elsewhere.

The Hoops chief said: “It would be nice for all the people who had to listen to all the crap that was thrown at them when we entered the league last year.

“You know, ‘You think you’re going to buy the league’ and ‘Moneybags coming in’ and you look now two years later, there are other clubs with much bigger budgets.

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“We’ve gone much more down the youth route this season.

"But for all those people who put their neck on the line and made the decision to put a women’s team back together, it would be nice and sweet for them.”

In late 2022, head of women’s football Jason Carey said that Rovers were not entering the league to make up the numbers but to ‘change the game’.

And O’Neill said: “I just laugh at the comments.

"I think that there was even a comment made by Jason in relation to being the ‘game changers’.

“It was completely taken out of context.

"What he actually meant was we were going to have an infrastructure and a set-up that was going to be different.”

O’Neill believes the powers-that-be in the Dáil have let down top-level women’s football, with last year’s World Cup a missed opportunity.

He said: “The Government have completely neglected senior women’s football.

“It p***es me off. People are reporting on Julie-Ann Russell, ‘Oh she’s a good player, she’s done well — shock’.

"It’s not a shock. People look at the European Under-19s — ‘Oh Katie Keane is a good player’.

“You have Lia O’Leary, Aoife Kelly, Joy Ralph, Kate Thompson who all put in good performances in that Under-19s and it comes as a shock to people.

“There are loads of good players in this league, it is just neglected by the Government because zero funding has come into the development.

"It’s outrageous, it’s about time that changed.”

MONEYBALL

The Government have supplied funding explicitly for women’s and girls football to the FAI over the years.

Last year, the FAI received €560,000 for their women’s programmes.

This year, €1million is to be split between the GAA, FAI and IRFU though no figures are available yet.

There was what was described as “up to €500,000 for grassroots girls’ programmes, adult women recreational football and women in football leadership”.

That was announced on the eve of last year’s Women’s World Cup, though there was nothing for elite level.

And O’Neill has watched and listened to politicians talking up sport since the Olympic Games.

He said: “It’s so Irish, they’re always look for the credit and aren’t willing to put anything in at the start to get things going.

"It’s left to volunteers, to people to invest money into it, to paddle their own canoe, then they’re coming at the end and saying, ‘Well done’.”

Since the World Cup, the home-based international sessions have been shelved but O’Neill believes an Under-23 international side for home-based players must be introduced.

But the grassroots funding was desperately needed. There has been a 76 per cent increase in participation at girls level since the World Cup.

While the backing at that level is welcomed, O’Neill is sure that a chance has been missed at the top level to ensure the surge in interest does not wane.

He said: “There was a big boat missed with the Women’s World Cup last year.

"We had Áine O’Gorman and Abbie Larkin at the World Cup.

“And it is one of those things where the FAI should have stepped in probably, and said, ‘Abbie, instead of going across to England, why not stay here?'

" 'We’ll run a full-time camp, you can be a full-time footballer and we’ll put those players out within the clubs to help build and grow and fans are coming to watch a known senior international’.”