World Cup preparations put strain on FAI resources

Last time everyone saw Amber Barrett she was draped in a Donegal flag on the Hampden turf. She spoke about Creeslough. She spoke about the goal. She sounded like a woman wise beyond her 26 years.

“Well, that’s down to Vera now,” Barrett deadpanned RTÉ's Tony O’Donoghue, as thoughts strayed to Australia and New Zealand next summer. “If she wants to win the World Cup, she better put me on the plane.”

Celebrations were brief, and dampened by a backlash to chanting in the Irish changing room, as Barrett rapidly went from heroic striker to Turbine Potsdam right-back in a 2-0 defeat to Wolfsburg.

On Saturday morning she reappeared, on zoom, to provide reaction to the Republic of Ireland landing into a hellish, yet enormously exciting World Cup group alongside two tournament favourites in Australia and Canada, and nine-time African champions Nigeria.

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“We are just happy to be there,” Barrett admitted. “Every group was going to be a difficult draw . . .how lucky we are to have our foot in the door.”

This is debatable. Fellow third seeds Switzerland should be delighted with Group A beside New Zealand, Norway and the Philippines while Costa Rica will take Spain, Japan and Zambia in Group C all day long. But the Barrett points hold, especially come the tournament opener against The Matildas in front of 42,500 fans at Sydney Football stadium on July 20th.

There follows a ridiculous 8,000 kilometre journey from Sydney to Perth to Brisbane in an 11-day period, crossing three time zones to see whether Ireland can progress as one of two qualifiers for a possible last 16 meeting with England, back in Sydney at the Olympic stadium on August 7th.

The 2023 World Cup won’t come cheap for fans.

“And that’s why we are very generous at communions and confirmations,” said Barrett, “so we have that wee bit of money stored away.

“We can’t be going into this World Cup saying we are just happy to be here and it is going to be a holiday for us,” she continued, her attitude evolving in real time.

“The first thing we must do is back ourselves to get out of the group. We know it is going to be difficult but if we don’t have that aim, to get to the next round, why are we going there?”

Nigeria, a football obsessed nation with over 200 million people, are supposed to be the weakest side in Group B yet their under-17s play Colombia in a World Cup semi-final on Wednesday. Seeded 45 by Fifa, Ireland manager Vera Pauw repeatedly highlights that this is down to their lack of matches against higher ranked countries.

The Super Falcons are on a poor run since losing to Morocco on penalties in the African Nations Cup semi-final last July, beaten twice by the USA in September and losing 2-0 to Japan in Kobe last month. But Barcelona striker Asisat Oshoala will surely target the Ireland game at Suncorp stadium, Brisbane on July 31st.

Canada won gold at the Tokyo Olympics last year, defeating Brazil, the US and Sweden on penalties in the final, yet they remain 7th in the world, which made them second seeds as co-hosts New Zealand (22) and Australia (13) were guaranteed the top bracket.

The Matildas are well ahead of Pauw’s squad in terms of preparation with friendlies next month against Sweden and Thailand as the FAI scramble to unearth opposition for the same international window, while hoping the presence of Erling Haaland sells out the men’s international against Norway at the Aviva stadium on November 17th.

With full houses the financial driver for everything the FAI hopes to achieve under chief executive Jonathan Hill, Pauw walked a tightrope following the draw in Auckland, supporting her employer’s efforts behind the scenes but stating unavoidable facts.

The women’s squad need games and more money, lots more, as the Dutch coach emptied the 2022 budget with an extended camp ahead of the Georgia game last summer. Because that’s what was needed to secure qualification to the World Cup.

Neither the FAI nor team sponsors, Sky and Cadbury’s, have given any indication that reaching the World Cup will unlock any financial bonuses as a €63.5 million debt hangs over the association following the government bailout in 2020.

The High Court ruled last Friday that documents relating to former FAI chief executive John Delaney are not covered by legal professional privilege and can be used by the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE) in its ongoing criminal investigation into the association.

“I had asked for the money to be used in June and I am not going to put extra pressure,” said Pauw. “But on the other hand, we have only three slots to prepare, so it will be very welcome. They are the only slots you can use to try out new players. It would be fantastic if we can manage it, it would be great but we know the situation.

“All I can say is we will give every team a game.”

That’s never been in question with this coach and these players.