Irish Football Association

The Irish Football Association has invested heavily in the development of girls' and women's football in the last ten years and has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of players participating in the game during this time. With four full-time members of staff (three in development and a National Women’s Coach) the key activities of the department include the following areas:

Grassroots Football

First Kicks
First Kicks cater for girls aged 6 -11 and are based on fundamental movement skills and basic football techniques. The IFA currently deliver over 20 programmes in partnership with local councils, Active Communities coaches, DENI Primary School coaches and local clubs. More than 300 girls participate within First Kicks on a weekly basis.

Primary Schools
The association has a network of 30 DENI Primary School coaches that work with 250 schools and provide football to approximately 9,000 girls each year through the Curriculum Sports Programme.

Post Primary Schools' Football

Small-sided leagues: Played as seven aside matches and delivered on a regional basis.
Winter season: October - December
Summer season: March – May

Indoor Cup: Played as five aside regional qualifying tournaments the event concludes with the National Finals in December each year

Schools' Cup: Senior Competition
Played as an eleven aside knockout competition the event culminates in a Finals Day.

U13 and U15 Competitions
Played as seven aside regional qualifying tournaments at under 13 (Year 8/9) and under 15 (Year 10/11) and concludes with the National Finals in June in each year.

Domestic Football

Club football in Northern Ireland is divided into two separate areas, namely, junior and senior and is organised under the auspices of the NIWFA (www.niwfa.org). Senior football organised into seven leagues including:

Premier League
Championship
Division One
Division Two
Division Three
Division Four
Reserve League

The winners of the Premier League each year represent Northern Ireland in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.

Centres of Excellence

The Centres of Excellence provide 160 girls aged 11 - 16 years of age with quality coaching on a county basis. These players are identified from a number of sources including schools' football, junior football and the NIWFA clubs. In total the players receive a minimum of 24 weeks of coaching coordinated by the National Women’s Coach and appropriate IFA staff.

International Football

At international level there are teams at senior level, under 19, under 17 and under 15 (Development Squad) levels. All teams participate in international fixtures and competitions and 2012 has been a year to remember!

Senior team
The senior women's team recently completed their UEFA Women's Euro 2013 in qualifying campaign in which they finished fourth out of six teams.

Under 15 Development Squad
The Under 15 squad team continued their impressive run of form and retained the Bob Docherty Cup in April 2012.

Under 17
The Under 17 team hosted a UEFA European Women's U17 Championship qualifying round mini tournament in September and secured top spot ahead of women’s superpowers England and Italy. The girls now look forward to the elite phase in spring 2013.

Under 19
The Under 19 team recently qualified for the elite phase of the UEFA European Women's U19 Championships beating Poland, Hungary and Lithuania in their mini group in Hungary. The draw for the next round will take place on November 15.