She feels that she was fitter and more of an athlete than the outfield players that she played alongside, and that is how it should be. "Even if it is a goalkeeping academy, it doesn't have to be."įor Byrne, the idea that a 'keeper is in goals purely because they cannot run is a fallacy. "I think there needs to be an academy where they can get the education that they want, and train everyday and have good coaches as well. You have a lot of academies where you can only do specific subjects and they are kind of average schools. Not just any old education, a really good education. "Not just for goalkeeping, but for the development of women's football, I really believe there should an academy," Byrne said.
Then you have to look at what we are doing to develop our goalkeepers."īyrne believes that the adaptation of a proper football academy for female athletes would be the ideal solution to not only the 'keeper problem, but the other issues facing the women's football in Ireland. "I think it is a real shame that we are not producing goalkeepers.
Especially coming from a country where Gaelic sports are so prominent, we should be able to get a goalkeeper from this because they have all the skills and the attributes to be a goalkeeper. If you are saying that I have not been replaced, I'm not going to agree with that, but I think it is really sad that that the case. "I think it's a really sad state of affairs if I'm honest.
"I don't think it is positive," Byrne said. Speaking on the latest episode of the COYGIG Podcast, Byrne discussed the idea that the national side has not yet been able to find a replacement for herself. Byrne believes that more attention needs to be brought to the goalkeeper role in underage teams across the country, with specialised coaching and training before they get to senior level, as by that stage it is too late.
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