Plea from teenagers excluded from the league to be able to play competitive football again

Louise Walsh

“Please let us play football competitively,” urged the young teenagers who appear to be left without a football championship this season.

More than 400 girls from 27 teams across north Dublin and East Meath have been left in limbo and coaches fear they will not be able to play a competitive match until next September.

The girls were part of the Dublin Metropolitan Girls League (MGL) and many clubs transferred to the Dublin District Schoolboys/girls League (DDSL) when the MGL collapsed.

The remaining teams then discovered that there were insufficient clubs left to form a league this season and that it was too late to join the DDSL after the August 20 club transfer deadline.

Clubs include Balrath, Laytown and East Meath United in Meath as well as Dublin teams such as Tyrellstown and Rush.

The issue was raised in the Dail by Sports Minister and Meath East TD Thomas Byrne, who met with the FAI several times to resolve the issue.

“It is an issue that has brought the Government and the Opposition together, it is access for girls to the DDSL League and I hope the message gets out that Dail Eireann is united on the fact that every girl deserves to participate and that committee members should not do so. It must be decided that certain women’s teams cannot participate in a league to which other clubs in the region belong,” he said in the Dail. .

Today, the girls themselves are calling for help simply to “kick a ball” competitively.

Ava Murphy-Hatch, 15, of the East Meath United (EMU) U16 team, said the girls had all been playing together for four years and friendships had been formed on and off the pitch.

“It’s very difficult to describe how we feel. We feel neglected. We come together to play as a team and we want to continue as a team.

“In reality, if we can’t play matches, some are considering moving to other clubs. I would ask the DDSL and the FAI to think again and let us play football.”

EMU coach Emmet McDonald said it was shameful that girls were being excluded from playing sport through no fault of their own.

“These girls come to train in all weathers, they help even the youngest ones. They should be rewarded and not punished. It is essential to keep them in the sport.”

At Balrath GBFC, the atmosphere of discouragement is similar as some players have decided to concentrate solely on GAA football rather than reporting for football training.

“It’s unfair that we don’t have a competition to take part in. I feel we’ve all been treated unfairly in this case,” said Amy Cleary, the under-16s’ goalkeeper.

“The numbers in training have gone down because some girls have lost the motivation to play sports. What’s the point of being a team if we don’t have the chance to play as a team?”

Balrath GBFC coach Dave Hewitt said it was “frustrating” that 400 girls were unable to play competitively because of what he described as a “technicality”.

“The DDSL opened expressions of interest to join and two days after that window closed, the MGL released the league which did not have enough personnel to play competitively. And the DDSL did not let us not let him join them at that time.

“So over 400 girls can’t play kids’ football because of a technical problem and there’s nowhere to go, so it could be next September before we can join another league and play matches.

“All the coaches involved are doing their best to organize friendly matches, but we need a league to play in.

“I’ve already lost four players and the longer this goes on, the more I’m going to lose. Some girls have decided to just focus on GAA now.”

He added that many girls were at an age where they were studying for exams and sport was an important outlet for them in terms of mental health and getting outdoors.

“We had a girl who was at the national training center and we had to let her go to another club so she could play matches in another league. It’s difficult to keep girls motivated at a time when the FAI launched its ‘In Her Boots’ initiative to keep girls playing football – how ironic that is.

“In my opinion, the forgotten nine (the nine clubs involved) have been totally ignored by both the SFAI and the DDSL and we have had no communication from them.”

“These girls need football for their own development and mental health. I will fight for these children even if no one else does.”

The FAI and SFAI have been contacted for comment.

A statement from DDSL President Niall O’Driscoll read: “DDSL, through its 143 member clubs, provides football to almost 12,000 girls, in over 750 teams ranging from under 7s under 18s during the current season.

We also welcome 37,000 boys across 2,500 teams led by a volunteer force across our member clubs of over 11,000 people.

We are assured that all our member clubs are doing everything they can to offer every young girl in the capital every opportunity to play the “Beau Jeu”.

DDSLs are governed by the FAI and SFAI rules on all matters and are required to comply fully in all areas of these regulations.

We are disappointed that the same offer to girls is not being offered by many leagues and clubs outside the capital and needs to be addressed by all parties concerned, particularly the support needed for voluntary sporting organizations to provide women’s football with the opportunities which they fully deserve in every aspect.”

Sinn Féin TD for Meath East, Darren O’Rourke, has said the continued exclusion of Meath women’s football teams from the football league is “inexcusable”.

Speaking after a debate in the Dáil on the issue submitted by him and a number of Sinn Féin colleagues, MP O’Rourke said:

“This is truly an inexcusable situation. Around 400 girls are being denied the right to play in the league due to a belligerent bureaucracy. Balrath Girls and Boys, East Meath United and Laytown United are directly affected. Balrath Girls and Boys, at they alone have around 120. girls involved.

“It is simply unacceptable for this situation to continue. There are indications that the FAI and DDSL will act in January, but this will take several months and is by no means guaranteed. We need a firm commitment that this This issue is resolved and we need it urgently.

“I raised this issue in the Dáil with the Minister for Sports, Thomas Byrne, as well as with a number of Sinn Féin colleagues. Although there was much agreement that it was ‘a completely unacceptable situation, the Minister has proposed few concrete steps he is taking to help resolve this issue, beyond meeting with the FAI and planning to define the terms of future Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs).

“The truth is that DDSL is for tens of thousands of children. Here we are talking about 400. This problem could be solved with the stroke of a pen if the adults in the room started behaving like adults. The minister has levers at his disposal. He should start using them.