‘A Roy Keane moment for the international women’s team’

Football has taken Stephanie Roche to places she could hardly have imagined as a kid who, growing up in Shankhill, was mad about the game.

Two years ago, she was a contender at Fifa’s Ballon d’Or gala in Zurich, mixing it with the likes of Messi and Ronaldo as her celebrated volley in the homely surroundings of Wexford’s Ferrycarrig Park was edged out for the prestigious Puskas Award – presented for the goal of the year - by a James Rodriguez strike at the World Cup finals in Brazil.

Yesterday, she found herself on a very different stage, joining 13 of her comrades from the Irish women’s senior squad at Liberty Hall in Dublin, as they made public long-simmering grievances with the FAI, including the absence of match fees and, for the part-time players, the lack of remuneration for loss of earnings. To a woman, they were eloquent advocates for their cause but their body language repeatedly told you that they’d rather be anywhere else than here: on the brink of taking strike action ahead of next Monday’s scheduled friendly against Slovakia, unless a resolution can be found.

“It’s a pity that it has come to this,” said the Sunderland player after the main press conference had concluded. “We’re footballers who want to get back on the pitch and play. We’re all excited to work with (new manager) Colin Bell, and the Cyprus Cup went really well. We want to get back as a squad and work towards the World Cup qualifiers. We’re passionate about playing for Ireland and it’s not something we want to have to do, but we feel that, for the future of women’s football, it has to be done now.”

Stuart Gilhooley, solicitor for the Irish footballers’ union, the PFAI, referenced Saipan when he described the occasion as “a Roy Keane moment for the international women’s team”, an echo from the past which had real meaning for Roche and her team-mates.

“Definitely, we spoke about it in the room before we came down and joked about it, but at the same time it is a serious time for women’s football and we weren’t sure what the reaction would be,” she said. “With Roy Keane, a lot of people had negative reactions and other people had positive reactions. But what he did improved men’s football in Ireland and it improved the set-up in the FAI. We’re not looking for a major, major breakthrough - all we want is to have a platform to work off as international footballers, to be able to perform at the highest level and to be able to compete.

“It’s an Irish thing that you just get on with it and go with the flow and we’ve done that for a number of years and tried to keep plugging away. But I think we’ve all come to an understanding that it’s never going to happen if we don’t have all the resources that we need. Emma (Byrne) spoke about it but England and Scotland are a great example: they’ve had help over the years and have managed to get to major tournaments and done well at them. We’ve never got to one and every one of us in that room wants to get to one at some stage.”

Among the complaints detailed at yesterday’s press conference was the jaw-dropping revelation that, because the women have to share their tracksuits with underage teams and so can’t take the gear home with them, they are forced to change in airport toilets before and after travelling on away trips. Later, Stephanie Roche described what the players say has become a “humiliating” routine.

“So, literally, you go into the toilet, get changed, come back out and the kitwoman is there with a big bag and you just put it into it and you’re on your way. And I think it’s safe to say that anyone who has seen it for the first time will tell you they were shocked.”

Bringing things back up to date, Roche revealed that the players have spoken to their new manager Colin Bell about the crisis.

“For myself, I said it to him out straight, that it’s not an ideal time for him to come in and we do apologise for the timing of it. It’s disappointing that he hadn’t been filled in completely on what was going on behind the scenes. Because this hasn’t just been overnight, it’s been going on for the last two or three years.

“We’re not asking for much. We’re not trying to cause trouble. We’re not trying to go to war or make this a publicity stunt or anything like that. This is all about making women’s football in Ireland better and providing a platform for the younger girls that are coming up.

“Obviously, the 19s and 17s are doing really well at the minute but senior international football is a huge step up. And for them to come into this set-up and not have the resources to be able to compete, it’s a step back. And it makes them maybe think, ‘Jesus, am I doing the right thing with my life here? Should I be playing football?’ And we don’t want that to be the case. We don’t want it to be a decision that you have to make: should you put your career before it?

“Because, believe me, every one of us have had that moment.”