Northern Ireland Ladies Captain inspires Fermanagh girls to pursue their passions

Marissa Callaghan, Northern Ireland Captain and IFA Diversification Officer, speaking to Jessica Campbell, Impartial Reporter.

Speaking directly to the girls during her visit to the Enniskillen primary school on Monday morning (October 17), Marissa explained that she has played football her "whole entire life" but that the first time that she played for a proper team was when she was 13 years of age.

"I was 13 when I started playing for my first girls' team and the reason that I started playing so late was because there were no opportunities for girls then," said Marissa, going on to explain to her young audience that although she only started playing football for a team as a teenager, she always loved participating in sporting activities: "My journey with football and sport [started] as a young kid, like yourselves, in primary school. I loved all sports, basketball, netball, running. Anything, I would [do] it.

Marissa Callaghan, Northern Ireland Captain and IFA Diversification Officer, with P5 pupils at Jones Memorial Primary School.

"It wasn't until I started the girls' team that I then got to play for Northern Ireland's under 15s, 17s and 19s and football has given me so so much.

"It's helped me make a lot of friends. Friends who I met when I was 13 are still my best friends now.

"It helped me grow as a person in terms of being confident within myself," she said, explaining some of the ways that playing football and being a part of a team has benefited her in life.

Marissa Callaghan, Northern Ireland Captain and IFA Diversification Officer, with P7 pupils at Jones Memorial Primary School.

Marissa went on to talk about the growth of female football.

"In our little island of Ireland, so the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, we're starting to see the female game rise massively," she said, noting how after Northern Ireland qualified for the Euros, the team went from having around 50 supporters at matches to almost selling out Windsor Park recently.

Continuing to address the pupils, Marissa added: "What we are trying to do as female athletes is inspire young girls like yourselves to go out and play whatever sports you want to play, or do whatever you want to do, whether that's music, whether you want to be a doctor or a teacher."

Marissa Callaghan, Northern Ireland Captain and IFA Diversification Officer, with P6 pupils at Jones Memorial Primary School.

As part of her visit, Marissa was promoting the Shooting Stars girls' football programme which is currently running at the Bawnacre Centre in Irvinestown. Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, she explained that the programme is for young girls from the age of four to 11.

"It's basically about the fundamental movement skills and it's about getting the girls together and meeting new friends, learning new skills and just having fun.

"It's that step before club, because there's no competition. It's just all about coming together once a week and just enjoying the game. Hopefully from that the girls will find the love for the game and want to go into the local teams," she said.

Marissa Callaghan, Northern Ireland Captain and IFA Diversification Officer, signing autographs fro pupils at Jones Memorial Primary School.

Talking about visibility in sport and the idea of 'you can't see, you can't be', Marissa explained why it is key that she as a footballer herself is promoting the sport to other females: "It's great that the girls are here and they know a bit about the sport but the main thing is [that they know] that I actually play the game. It's about giving these young girls role models and inspiring them to go on and pursue whatever sport they want."

Marissa Callaghan, Northern Ireland Captain and IFA Diversification Officer, speaking to pupils at Jones Memorial Primary School.

When asked why it is important to her to promote football to young girls in areas such as Fermanagh, Marissa said: "Casey Howe is one of our top young players and I feel like we have the potential to find so many other top young players in this part of the world.

"I think we have a few stars down here and it's just to make sure that we're giving them opportunities and help develop them for the future, to make them into future stars," she told this newspaper.