As part of the Football Pathways Plan, a new programme to help female international players transition from playing into coaching has been set up.
Áine O'Gorman, Stephanie Zambra and Rianna Jarrett will be the first to avail of the programme that has been created by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) with the help of the Professional Footballers Association of Ireland (PFA Ireland). With a combined total of 193 appearances for the Ireland Women's National Team, the three aspiring coaches - who each played in the 2024 SSE Airtricity Women's Premier Division - will be able to gain valuable experience and further develop their skillset by working directly with Ireland underage female teams. All three have been part of the FAI Coach Development Pathway with O'Gorman and Jarrett currently participating on the UEFA A Licence course, while Zambra recently completed her UEFA B Licence.
FAI Head of Women and Girls' Football Hannah Dingley said: "Providing opportunities for female coaches in our game is essential, so we are excited to launch this new programme to help players develop their coaching skills and, in turn, support our Ireland underage female teams. Through this programme, we hope to equip the participants with the necessary skills to transition into future coaching and technical roles. They will have access to working in a high-performance environment, learn how to work with players and staff in a new role and develop the tools and skills required to advance in their careers."
PFA Ireland General Secretary Stephen McGuinness said: “PFA Ireland is delighted to be part of this coaching initiative for Senior International Women’s players. We believe that the experience that these players have at underage and senior football will be hugely beneficial to the current underage international female players. We look forward to the start of this initiative, and hopefully this will provide a pathway into coaching for more former senior international women’s players in the future. We wish Áine, Steph & Rianna the very best of luck in their new roles.”
The programme will help the coaches to continue their development over an 18-month placement that will allow them to balance coaching opportunities with their day jobs. The coaches will work directly with the Ireland Women's Under-19s and Under-17s plus the Girls' Under-16s over the course of the 2024/25 and 2025/26 International seasons.
Photo Left to Right | FAI Assistant Director of Football Shane Robinson, FAI Head of Women & Girls' Football Hannah Dingley, Rianna Jarrett, Áine O'Gorman, Ireland WNT Head Coach Eileen Gleeson, Stephanie Zambra, PFA Ireland's Simone Flannery, PFA Ireland General Secretary Stephen McGuinness at the photocall for the Player to Coach Programme.
