FAI intervenes in stand-off between underage soccer leagues

The Dublin and District Schoolboys’/girls’ League (DDSL) has been denied entry to the 2024 Gaynor and Kennedy cups due to a dispute with the schools section of the FAI.

The DDSL’s boys’ and girls’ under-14 squads, selected from 5,000 children, had planned to compete at the tournaments, which showcase the best young footballers on the island, in June.

Barry Ferguson, the DDSL’s director of football, informed both teenage squads this week that they would not be attending next month’s competitions at the University of Limerick.

Parents of DDSL players contacted The Irish Times to express their disappointment, following seven months of weekly trials and sessions at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown to prepare them for the Gaynor and Kennedy cups.

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“It’s fallen apart at the seams, there is no joined-up thinking here,” said a parent who wished to remain anonymous. “This is the very age that girls drop out of sport, as they have their studies with the Junior Cert.”

The stand-off between the Schoolboys’/girls’ Football Association of Ireland (SFAI) and the DDSL comes in the same week that FAI sponsor Cadbury launches a programme, fronted by Irish internationals Abbie Larkin and Jamie Finn, to keep girls and women involved in the game.

“My daughter knows that the Gaynor Cup is where all the FAI scouts and coaches will be watching players,” the parent continued. “I don’t care if she goes to Gaynor or makes the DDSL squad, but I want these men – and the dispute at administrative level is between men – to treat her fairly.”

The DDSL says it is seeking to resolve this situation “as a matter of urgency”. The FAI will hold a meeting on Thursday to address the stand-off between the SFAI and the DDSL, which is the biggest underage league in the country, with more than 49,000 players.

“We are aware of the situation regarding DDSL participation at the Gaynor Cup and we’re currently working with the DDSL and the SFAI, as tournament organiser, to have it resolved,” said an FAI spokesperson.

Another parent told The Irish Times: “The reality is that there were dozens of girls [on Monday night] who were shocked, crying and massively let down. Ultimately some of the best players in the country will now not be playing in one of the biggest competitions of the year and are missing out on a major opportunity.

“As a parent who had to console our daughter who has put hours of time, energy and effort to be picked for this, I am massively disappointed. No child should be denied the chance to attend Gaynor for administrative reasons, after being told they would be going.”

The SFAI has been approached for comment. The DDSL wrote to it on Wednesday morning, stating that its actions are without “just cause” and “an act of discrimination ... beyond the scope” of its power.

A six-figure sum of Government funding goes to the SFAI, via the association, to run the Gaynor and Kennedy cups. All representative teams paid a €2,500 entry fee, including the DDSL, before their application was rejected last Friday.

The DDSL has held competitive sessions every Monday night for girls and Wednesday for boys since October, with the players informed in March that they would feature at the national competitions.

“This made the long drives for some families, to play in some terrible weather conditions and starting at 8pm, all worthwhile,” said a parent.

“When [FAI development officer] Barry Ferguson informed the girls on Monday night, after what they believed was the final trial, they thought he was joking. These girls trained their hearts out since October, and they and us as parents have been made fools of, especially after what happened with the Metro Girls’ League and DDSL last year.”

Last September, 66 girls’ teams sought to move from the Metropolitan Girls’ League (MGL) to the DDSL, after a dispute over a lack of representation in the North Dublin Schoolboys/girls League (NDSL). All 20 MGL academy coaches resigned in protest, citing “questionable decision-making of the three-person NDSL/MGL board of directors”.

One of the “pillars” of the FAI strategic plan 2022-25 is to develop the “full potential of football for women and girls”, yet the association’s head of girls’ and women’s football role has been vacant since Eileen Gleeson was named interim Ireland manager in September 2023. Hannah Dingley, an English-born academy coach, will take up the position on May 20th.

Gleeson said last year: “The goal is that every girl has the opportunity to play and have an appropriate games programme. We’re working towards that but we’re dealing with a lot of independent bodies, like leagues that have their own rules and regulations, that we have to overarch. Sometimes internal conflicts build up. We have to guard against it preventing girls from playing football.”

Marc Canham, the FAI director of football, added: “We have a clear view of what [the player pathways plan] looks like around participation and making sure everyone has positive participation experience at children and adult level of football.”