Ahead of the UEFA Women's U19 Championship Final, representatives from women's grassroots leagues and clubs gathered in the National Stadium in Belfast for a workshop which focussed on increasing participation and retention. The Workshop was facilitated and delivered by UEFA's Grow 2020 team Ahead of the UEFA Women's U19 Championship Final, representatives from women's grassroots leagues and clubs gathered in the National Stadium in Belfast for a workshop which focussed on increasing participation and retention. The Workshop was facilitated and delivered by UEFA's Grow 2020 team.
The workshop which was facilitated by UEFA's Noel Mooney, was delivered by Oleks Kucheriavyi from UEFA and Hannah Simpson, CEO of The West Riding FA in England.
The main focus was on player recruitment and retention, it gave some great examples of successes from other countries, with a particular focus on how best to accommodate a wide variety of players in an ever changing society.
The workshop also provided the opportunity for debate and discussion amongst the participants, particularly on the area of club and league development in Ireland. This gave us the opportunity to discuss club and league development and what was needed to bring women's football in Ireland to the next level with fellow stakeholders from across Europe.
Speaking following the workshop, the FAI’s Head of Women’s Football, Sue Ronan, said, “The UEFA Grow Workshop was a great event. It enabled us the opportunity to get some of the key volunteers working in underage women's football in Ireland around the table for some very positive discussions and interaction. All those present felt they got a lot of 'takeaways' from the workshop which I've no doubt will help them further develop their leagues and clubs.
“Of course a big bonus from the day was getting to see at first hand two of the top underage nations in European football play in the final of the European Championships, a match that proved to be very exciting. I would like to take this opportunity to thank the UEFA GROW2020 team for facilitating this workshop and for their continued support of women's football in Ireland. I'd also like to thank all at the IFA for accommodating us at their National Stadium.”