Players worried about impact AFLW could have on ladies football

“It is going to have an impact on our game and that is where my worry is with it, because their season is now encroaching on our season."

Dublin captain Carla Rowe at the launch of the 2025 Lidl Ladies National Football Leagues. New research by Lidl and the LGFA examining the public’s attitudes towards female sporting role models revealed that 42% of consumers would be more likely to attend a female sports event if a high-profile player was involved. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan

“You would be foolish to say that you are not worried,” Dublin’s Carla Rowe said about the impact the number of ladies footballers leaving Ireland to play in the AFLW could have on the sport she loves. It will be at least 45 for the 2025 season.

“They have so many players and so much backing, and it is the top players on every single team that are going over. We just don’t want that - don’t want it in senior, don’t want it in intermediate or in junior.