The Galway Women’s Football Club (GWFC) on Sunday last week announced that they will no longer be playing for the Women’s National League (WNL) amid rising costs in Ireland. They have cited both financial and operational reasons for this decision.
Stephen Moore, the founder of the GWFC, told Galway Talks Radio Station that it was struggling to pay players’ salaries. According to him, costs keep going higher each year. COVID-19 especially affected them badly.
When they started, the budget would be around 20,000 euros. This year the budget requirement was no less than 160,000 euros. That included travel expenses, gear for the game as well as practice, among other things.
The GWFC had already informed the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) before giving a public statement. The girls have a long-standing association with the League as they have been playing for it for the past ten seasons. Galway United, which GWFC comes under, has said that they will strive to promote elite women’s football.
The club thanked all of their significant sponsors, including the McDonagh family, the University of Galway, the Galway City Council, Best Drive, and Seven Bar and Co. who supported them so far in their WNL participation. GWFC has won the WNL cup multiple times, their recent win being the U19s winning in 2021.
Simultaneously the club released a fundraiser for their other activities for the season. Prices of things like energy have increased by 28% this year. This is said to affect sports, especially during the winter months.
