Derry & District U14s opening doors with Gaynor Cup experience

Exciting times lie ahead for girls’ football in the city after the Derry & District U14s became the first ever girls select team from the association to play in the Gaynor Cup.

The prestigious tournament, held over the June bank holiday at the University of Limerick is a standout event in the Irish youth football calendar, with top-tier talent and fierce competition from across the country.

For the first time ever, a girls’ team from Derry participated, coming through three tough group games to reach the Trophy semi-final where they just lost out to a very experienced Louth side. Nevertheless, having had less than three months to prepare for football at such a high level, there is no doubt that the team, made up of some of the best players from clubs across the city, could hold their heads high

Coach Christy McGeehan admitted it was an incredible experience for everyone.

“It’s a massive event which runs for a week, played down at Limerick University, which is a massive complex with great pitches and great facilities and it was really well organised,” he explained.

“It’s a really professionally run tournament. It’s something that, up here, we didn’t really know anything about so this was the first year that we made enquiries and we got in at the last minute.

"It was the first year that the Derry & District team had a team to take part in it. Obviously with the growth of girls’ football here in this part of the country, there has been great growth so this will help raise the standard in terms of the quality and this is one of the initiatives as an association that we’re looking into to help achieve that and raise the profile of girls’ football in the Derry & District area.”

It was a real challenge to bring the team together and coach them in such a short period of time, but the progress made by the girls, individually and collectively throughout was inspiring to all.

“What we did was we put it out to all the local D&D clubs,” Christy continued. “If they wanted to send two girls forward who they felt were at that level to take part in a few weeks of trials and from those trials we selected a panel of players. We had players representing Oxford, Phoenix, Tristar, Sion and Maiden City and they really came together well. We only had a few weeks together before the tournament to get them to gel and bond and playing together and it came together really well.

“They went down to Limerick early on Monday morning, and all week they gave a really good account of themselves and I think they were a credit to their clubs and our association for the way they played and the way they conducted themselves on and off the pitch throughout the week. It was a real pleasure and a real success. In the bigger picture of things, it’s something that we can do every year now.”

Having experienced the Gaynor Cup, the doors have now been opened not just for future trips to Limerick, but other tournaments across the country. This, Christy agrees, is just the beginning.

“The girls have really had their eyes opened to see the level that’s out there,” he said. “Every game was a good standard with tough opposition, but our girls raised their game and they realised this is the level they want to play at and they went and competed with some of the best players around Ireland. There were a lot of scouts there from the FAI and senor clubs down south watching all the games, so it was great exposure for them. It showed them that there are levels out there that are very achievable for them, and I think there’s girls there with potential to go on and do well in the girls’ game.

“This also laid the foundation for next year, for younger girls coming through at different age groups, so for them individually, they can see that this is not only what they want to do, but it’s also achievable and realistic.

“This is going to open doors for more girls here in the D&D League to give them opportunities to play in competitions like this in the future.”

The growth of girls’ football in the city has been inescapable in recent years, with every local club now having at least one girls’ team; in the past 10 years alone, the growth has been rapid.

Action from the Gaynor Cup 

“A lot of local clubs are opening their doors for girls starting off in football,” Christy acknowledged. “You have the likes of Phoenix, Tristar, Trojans, Top of the Hill Celtic, Maiden City, Ballymoor, Newbuildings, and even clubs outside the town like Limavady and Sion. All clubs have girls in them so this old stigma that there is nothing for girls, it’s not that way anymore and there’s loads of opportunities for girls now and it’s great to see and credit to the D&D Association, they are offering equal opportunities for girls and boys.

“If you look at the growth of the Foyle Cup, the number of teams participating in that competition increases massively each year. The Foyle Cup opens its doors for girls’ teams and girls’ sections and there’s a good reason for that, because the growth of the Foyle Cup participation is down to the growth of girls’ teams too.”

“As coaches, we are only realising ourselves what’s out there and we’re only really scratching the surface, and ultimately what we want to do is, boys or girls, we want to develop footballers to go on and hopefully represent our local senior clubs, and for that to happen we need a strong youth league and without doubt the boys have been flying for any years and the girls are definitely getting there as well, so it’s exciting times all round.”

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“I would like to give a special mention to the players who were an absolute credit to their clubs and to the association. Also, to Roisin Besley, a Tristar coach, who was a great help and a real driving force behind us. She had a huge role to play and was a great role model for the girls also.

“I would also like to thank the D&D Association for their support and also our sponsors, MFC Sports, a local company in Springtown, and Noel in Activ Clothing in Bridgend, who really helped us out at the last minute.”