"We hope we can do the country proud"
Her caught up with Irish footballer,
Áine O'Gorman who's looking forward to heading down under for the
2023 Women's World Cup this July.
Áine was an important member of the
Ireland team during the qualifying game against Scotland in October which Ireland won 1-nil.
She's been playing with the national team since March 2006 and surpassed her 100th cap in 2018 which is a very impressive achievement.
The footballer has been a huge advocate for not only promoting women's sports, but for introducing young girls into the sport and in encouraging them to stay playing it.
She remembered being brought to training as a child: "I grew up playing football with the boys and it's something I loved. I think it stood to me throughout my career.
"But, there wasn't the same opportunity for girls to get involved and play at that time.
"When I had to stop playing with the boys at 14, I moved to Stella Maris academy and my parents used to pick me up almost every day from school and bring me there.
"Right now, in my local club in Enniskerry, there's just as many girls playing soccer as there are boys which just shows the growth."
Áine's helping to develop women's sport
Áine's been working alongside
Aviva Ireland who have launched the
2023 Soccer Sisters Easter Programme that aims to increase the number of 7-14 year old girls playing football nationwide.
Since the programme started in 2010, over 30,000 young girls have participated. This has led to the formation of new clubs and new girls’ sections in clubs throughout the county.
She said: "This is a fun free way for girls to get involved in football and fall in love with the sport. It will teach them new skills and they'll make new friends.
"In the programme this year, there's going to be a lot of focus around educating parents about female athlete and particularly around the menstrual cycle.
"We got the platform to perform and look at where it's brought us, the World Cup.
"We're incredibly proud of that but we don't want the growth and the development of the game to end there. Obviously, we want to piggy back on the success of the women's national team and keep getting young girls involved.
"We need to keep building on to the structure of their development."
"It's what you dream of when you put on the green jersey"
The Ireland team are heading down under in July to compete in the Women's World Cup.
The first match is against Australia on July 20th followed by Canada on the 26th and Nigeria on the 31st of July.
It was a surreal moment for the country to have our national women's team qualify for the soccer tournament with the team receiving immense support from the nation.
Áine told us how she felt when that final whistle blew against Scotland last October in the deciding game.
She said: "I think I was numb at the time.
"I just couldn't believe it happened and the way it panned out that we didn't have to go play an intercontinental tournament because we qualified and it was straight to the World Cup.
"It was an amazing feeling and honestly a dream come true for me and all the players. It's what you dream of when you put on the green jersey, to represent your country in a major competition.
"To be in the World Cup is just fantastic."
Áine and the rest of the team are in preparation mode now until the competition and are very much keeping their eyes on the prize.
"I think I'm happy now to be in preparation for it. We're all really excited and are looking forward to it.
"We hope we can do the country proud."
The more, the merrier
We asked Áine if she had any match prep rituals that her and the team like to do before an important game.
She said that with experience comes a specific routine that she and the rest of the girls follows.
She said: "As a team, we prepare in the same way we always have. We always look to improve our game and any preparation we do focuses on that.
"We have a professional attitude every time we play no matter what team or level it's at."
Áine seems absolutely buzzing for summer and even more so because her entire family can join her in Oz, including her baby boy James.
She said: "My mam and dad are coming over. My brothers getting married soon so they're coming over with the two kids on their honeymoon and then my partner and my son James, who's seven months old. So yeah, it's really really exciting."
She joked and said: "And fingers crossed I'll be on the plane as well."
We wanted to get to know Áine a little more and so we had to ask - spice bag or curry chips after a big game?
She said she's a big fan of Indian food so that'd be her go-to meal after a match. She also confirmed that there's nothing better than a chipper and so she said she'd never pass on a burger or a pizza.
We're beyond proud of Áine and the Ireland team thus far and we're so excited to cheer them all on this July.
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