From schoolboy teams to college dreams: player progression on the League of Ireland elite underage pathway- an early look at the first structured approach to elite adult football in the League of Ireland

Abstract

A new structured Player Pathway for League of Ireland clubs in the Republic of Ireland was launched in 2014, the central tenet being the provision of a direct route from schoolboy to elite adult football, something which had not existed previously. It was to be introduced in stages, beginning with the Under-19s. In August 2014, 354 players were named on the team-sheets for the opening round of the reformed Elite Under-19 leagues. One year later, a further 361 players were named for the opening round of matches in the Under-17 level. This study focuses on the 715 players in these two cohorts, tracking their progress in football through to the start of the 2020 season. It also tracks their engagement with the educational opportunities available to them over the same period. This is a particularly important consideration given the importance of educational qualifications for young footballers, in relation to future employment prospects both in and outside the game.