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Posted: 2 weeks ago

IFA head of women’s football, Angela Platt, praises progress under manager Tanya Oxtoby as NI move up in world rankings and average age of international team is lowered

Angela Platt (left) with Tanya Oxtoby when she was unveiled as the Northern Ireland senior women’s team manager in September 2023

THE Irish Football Association’s Director of Women’s Football has expressed her pride in the Northern Ireland senior women’s team.

Despite the team missing out on a place at UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, Angela Platt insists the future is bright under manager Tanya Oxtoby.

Angela said: “We are so proud of this team. They are on a journey and getting better all the time.

“The changes Tanya is making in moving the team up the rankings, lowering the average age and emphasising the need for players to be in as high a performing environment as possible demonstrates she is building for the future.

“Behind the scenes we are working hard to support women’s and girls’ football right across the association as we finalise our new women’s and girls’ strategy which will be launched early next year.”

The Director of Women’s Football said the strategy will feature “a raft of exciting work to ensure we continue to progress at all levels of the game”.

“The senior women’s team is an important part of this but so is the work done in our development teams and across the wider pathway to ensure young girls enjoy the game and see a future in it for them,” she added.

The latest FIFA/Coca-Cola Women’s World Ranking shows Northern Ireland have moved up three places since June to 45th position.

Statistics also show Oxtoby has lowered the average age of the team since taking over in September last year.

At the end of November 2022 the average age was just over 27 years. Two years on the average age was just under 25 for the two play-off final games against Norway this week and last.

The statistics support the manager’s assertion that she is building a squad for the future.

Before Oxtoby took over the previous Northern Ireland squad featured 16 players from the NIFL Women’s Premiership, six from clubs in England and one based in the United States.

Her squad for the Women’s Euro play-off final against Norway featured 10 players based in England, eight NIFL Women’s Premiership players and five from clubs in Scotland.

Tanya Oxtoby during Euro qualifying defeat in Norway