Irish Women’s Football Team Treated ‘Like Dirt On The FAI’s Shoe’

There’s no question that women in sport often do not receive the same recognition as their male counterparts but the latest revelations about the Irish women’s football team are pretty shocking.

Fourteen players from the Ireland Senior Women’s International Team held a press conference this morning to highlight the inadequate support they receive over the course of the year, saying that they are forced to change tracksuits in airport toilets before leaving for games.

According to Balls.ie, members of the team gave up over 40 working days in the last year to train and prepare for international games but received no compensation for lack of earnings.

Stuart Gilhooly “we need to recognise that the women’s team are 5th class citizens, the dirt on the FAI’s shoe”

— Marie Crowe (@mariecrowe) April 4, 2017

“This level of commitment is unsustainable in the current framework. We currently receive no loss of earnings, no match fee or bonus for the time given to represent our country. Over 60% of the current squad are non-professional, many careers outside the game are on hold and it is becoming financially unrealistic to continue under the current parameters.

“We are elite athletes and compete on the world stage yet our treatment is far from where we feel it should be.”

They also stated that they have not been provided with stable wi-fi in their hotel accommodation, access to individual strength and conditioning programmes and are forced to return tracksuits to the FAI after games.

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