Page 3 - Women's Soccer Scene Issue No.29 2022-23

Experienced coach and former Northern Ireland international Gail Redmond has been
appointed as manager of the Northern Ireland Women’s Under-17 and Under-19
international teams.
Redmond, currently the Women’s Development Manager with the Irish Football
Association’s Foundation, has been coaching for more than 20 years and was previously
involved with the Northern Ireland senior women’s team as an assistant coach.
She has been coaching NIFL Women’s Premiership side Glentoran Women since
2018 and is also a former player with the east Belfast club. As a player and coach at the
Glens she has won 22 trophies over a 12-year period.
Redmond, who will step down from her roles with the association’s foundation and
Glentoran to take up the Northern Ireland WU17s/WU19s managerial role, said: “I am
really excited to be back coaching in international football.
“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as the Women’s Development Manager and have
had the privilege to work alongside so many amazing, hard-working, innovative colleagues
and key stakeholders.
“I know that these relationships will be pivotal as I work hard to build on the strong
foundations already in place to prepare our young players to compete in international
football.”
In the new role she will plan, organise and deliver to elite international standard the
training and competition programmes of the Women’s U17 and U19 teams. The focus will
be on developing players to help maximise their potential and the opportunity to progress
to the senior team.
Angela Platt, Director of Women’s Football at the Irish FA, said: “I’m really pleased
to see Gail leading in this new role for the girls’ elite international pathway.
“She has a wealth of experience in girls’ and women’s football that I know she will
bring to this role as a former international player, an experienced Pro Licence coach and
through her various football development roles.
“It is an exciting role for the girls’ elite international pathway and I look forward to
working with Gail closely to ensure we provide the opportunities to develop the exciting
crop of talented Northern Ireland players within our girls’ pathway.”
Redmond first played for the Northern Ireland senior women’s team in 1996 before
she left for the USA a year later to play for Mississippi Fire, the University of Southern
Mississippi women’s soccer team.
She was assistant-player coach and then player-head coach for the Fire from 2002
until 2008, and between 2004 and 2007 she again played for and captained the Northern
Ireland senior women’s team.
In 2008 Redmond returned to Northern Ireland and joined Glentoran Women as a
player, winning three league titles and four Irish Cups over an eight-year period. She also
worked for the Irish FA as a Let Them Play Officer.
Between 2009 and 2014 she was assistant coach with the Northern Ireland senior
women’s team and the Women’s Under-19 side and she was the co-ordinator in the Co
Antrim area of the association’s Girls’ Excellence Programme.
Redmond, who was awarded an MBE for services to association football last year and
gained her UEFA Pro Licence in 2019, was head coach with the Northern Ireland U15
Schoolgirls’ team in 2015-16 before joining Glentoran Women as coach in 2018.
(irishfa.com)
news@womenssoccerscene.co.uk