Ireland U17s thread

Was the captain of the U16 Ireland team also. Very young to be heading off to Germany, but another example of the paths being taken by our most promising youngsters now that Britain has been ruled out.

Best thing to happen to Irish football in a while. Don’t be giving the FAI any ideas ffs.

I actually think it's potentially a huge benefit for the LoI and to our club sides, so I'm not sure why we should be challenging it. However, it needs decisive action (and financing) to ensure that facilities and coaching staff for young players across the country are of the highest possible standard. We need Regional FAI Development Academies from U15 level up and we need continuous improvement of the qualification levels of coaching staff across the country. UEFA arent breaching anything, it's Britain's unilateral withdrawal from the EU which has caused the problem.

Agreed and given the state of the FAI finances, I wouldnt hold my breath. However, the Irish government should 100% be assisting this process also. We need to create a system whereby our best young talent doesnt lose out by not going abroad. We need the coaches and the facilities here and now, Regional Academies from U15 level up and a coherent policy on how best for the clubs involved to extract maximum value from players when they move abroad at 18.

It's a disaster. Irish lads are missing out on 2/3 years of quality coaching and playing against some of the best young players in Europe on a regular basis. They'll arrive in the UK under-developed relative to their peers.

A UEFA B Licence course shouldnt cost more than a couple of grand and it should be grant assisted. There's a clear need to raise the standard of coaching across the country and tbh it wouldnt cost that much. I'd be fairly confident there would be enough interested parties if qualifications through to A licence level were fully grant aided. It also shouldnt be a requirement that people going for a B Licence need to be involved with a senior club.