Katie McCabe: 'We want to boost the morale of the nation'

Today is the day. The most important game in the Irish national women’s team’s history as they take on Ukraine in Kiev. A draw, and they’ll qualify for the Euro 2022 play-offs.

A win and they’ll qualify for a play-off spot but remain in contention for an automatic qualification spot.

Ireland captain Katie McCabe is under no illusions how important a game this is for the team, and how much of a lift it would give the country as a whole.

“We’re on the cusp of something that’s never been done with the women’s national team and to be leading them out will be amazing,” McCabe said of the occasion. 

With level 5 restrictions in full effect, and the game being broadcast live on RTE Two, this may well be the most watched game the women’s team has ever played in.

“We definitely want to boost the morale of the nation going in,” she adds. “We’re hoping that to turn a negative into a positive that people can tune into the game on Friday and get the flags out, the jerseys on and it’ll mean the world to us to get the support from back home.

“We always say the Irish fans are the best fans in the world so no doubt we’ll have the nation cheering us on Friday.” 

It’s been a long road for women’s football, and McCabe in particular. Her time in senior international football began in 2014 with a phone call with then-manager Sue Ronan after the U-19’s Euros, where Ireland reached the semi-final.

“I was asked to come in to camp and that first camp was obviously daunting, meeting the likes of Emma Byrne and all the big heads, but it was great,” she recalls.

“Then I got my first competitive cap against Finland, which was fantastic, I got man of the match that day and from then on I just loved it.”

What’s followed has been a whirlwind both on and off the pitch. From the strike against playing conditions and the FAI’s treatment of the women’s team in 2017 to the chartered flight that took the team from Germany to Ukraine earlier this week, it’s been a massive few years for the squad.

McCabe was named captain of the team in August of 2017, following Emma Byrne’s international retirement.

When asked how she feels captaincy has changed her, McCabe smiles before replying: “I think for the couple of years I’ve had the captaincy, the girls say I’ve matured but I always say it’s down to the players I have around me.

“The teammates I had, your Niamh Fahey’s, Louise Quinn, Dianne Caldwell, I know I can lean on those leaders that can help me grow and they’ve definitely help me mould into the captain I am today.”

So what does it mean for McCabe to be leading the team out on such an important occasion?

“It’s not just as a captain,” she said. “It's about that little girl growing up, to be achieving her dream of going to a major tournament and to share that with all my teammates is something I’ll never forget."

There is an awareness, across the team, of how transformative this squad has the potential to be for Irish women’s football.

This is a huge opportunity to put Irish women’s football on the map and change the perception of the women’s game in Ireland forever.

When McCabe is asked if she feels the same, she takes a moment before replying: “For me, I’ve got a little sister who's 12-turning-13 and all she wants to do is become a professional footballer.  

“For me, to be at the forefront of Irish women’s football at the moment is fantastic and to gives her the hope to fulfil her dreams. That’s who we’re doing it for, all the young girls growing up looking at us.”

This is undoubtedly one of the biggest games of McCabe’s career, both at club and international level. Whatever happens this evening has the capacity to define this era of women’s football.