THE Irish Football Association (IFA) is looking to expand its workforce to help deliver on its promise to young players.
Let Them Play, the recently launched strategy for youth football is looking to develop youth football over the next 10 years.
Through this initiative the IFA will work with a range of partners to empower boys and girls to develop a lifelong love for the game.
Key positions the Irish FA will be looking to fill are:
Recruitment and retention officer
A key objective of Let Them Play is to increase youth participation rates. The recruitment and retention officer will work to prevent drop-out in the teenage years.
Primary school coaches
The strategy also aims to increase the percentage of schools where football is played. As part of this the IFA will be recruiting additional coaches to work in its primary schools programme.
Youth development co-ordinators
Other objectives are to embed a culture of club and volunteer development throughout youth football and to create new youth coach education pathways as well as new player development pathways. Programmes in men’s and women’s clubs will be bolstered by the appointment of youth development co-ordinators.
Regional referee development officers
The IFA is launching a referee strategy. As part of this, recruitment at grassroots level is a key priority. It is looking for a number of officers to co-ordinate centres of excellence for referees.
Employability and skills resources officer
The IFA aims to revamp youth coach education and give coaches skills to develop players. The employability and skills resources officer will help create educational syllabuses, coaching courses and player-friendly resources.