Áine O’Gorman becomes first female State-funded Academy recruit

PAVING THE BRAY: Former Ireland centurion Áine O’Gorman has been appointed as the new academy director of Bray Wanderers, the first female to land one of the new State-funded roles. Pic: Bray Wanderers.

Former Ireland centurion Áine O’Gorman has been appointed as the new academy director of Bray Wanderers, the first female to land one of the new State-funded roles.

O’Gorman is from Co Wicklow and won 119 caps over a 17-year international career that culminated at the 2023 World Cup in Australia.

Bar a short spell in England with Doncaster, her playing career was spent domestically, primarily during Peamount United’s golden period alongside the likes of Karen Duggan and Stephanie Roche.

She finished her career at Shamrock Rovers, simultaneously embarking on the coaching ladder that has brought her into this full-time position.

The FAI were keen to recently enlist O’Gorman into one of their new underage international managerial positions but she opted to stay local. Following retirement last year, she joined Bray as Women’s U17 assistant coach.

Her appointment is the latest since the Government granted €3m of State funding during last October’s budget to kickstart a club-led academy model.

The grant, part of a multi-annual promise by the Government, is designed to equip clubs with the personnel and infrastructure to fulfil their remit of developing players in a post Brexit era whereby talent cannot join UK clubs until their 18th birthday.

The Department of Sport, through their agency Sport Ireland, have set strict qualification criteria.

In the first instance, the FAI invited applications in December for the vacancies of academy directors and heads of coaching. This led to a panel for each being made available for clubs to select after interviewing three candidates from the list.

Funding for the posts of €43,500 and €38,500 per annum respectively is available to each club for employing the staff on three-year contracts.

Several staff who accepted redundancy from the FAI earlier this year, such as Colin O’Brien (Cork City), Niall Harrison (Sligo Rovers) and Adrian Carberry (Athlone Town), have landed roles. Former Cork City defender Johnny Dunleavy was recently recruited by Waterford.

Minister of State for Sport, Charlie McConalogue, however expressed his disappointment in April at the low uptake of female applicants.

The FAI informed the minister that only six women, of 300 applicants, applied for the 24 director of club academies and 32 head of coaching roles.

The panel opens twice per year for new applicants.

“I’m extremely passionate about youth development in Ireland and believe that creating the right environment is key to helping players grow, not only as footballers but as people,” said O’Gorman.

“Bray Wanderers has a wealth of talent within the club and local community and I’m excited by the opportunity to help nurture and develop the next generation.

“I look forward to working with players, coaches, parents and the wider club community to build on the strong foundations already in place and to ensure the Academy continues to reflect the values, standards and ambitions of Bray Wanderers.”

She began her new position this weekend, joining the men’s development squad at their invitational tournament in Liverpool, where they faced teams including Liverpool and Aston Villa.