Matchday Correspondent, Aaron Davoren, gives an overview of the RTÉ documentary “Football Families”, a behind the scenes look at youth academy football in Ireland.
Much has been said about the many ‘fly on the wall’ football documentaries that the big streaming platforms such as Disney, Prime Video and Netflix have latched onto over the last five to ten years. Whilst they are extremely popular in its numbers, some argue these documentaries are over-dramatised for the series, over-saturated and make players uncomfortable. Knowing a little camera is on the wall of their sacred dressing room causes them to stay within their shell. “Football families” however is not like this. It's clear the viewer meets real conversations with those involved in the Irish football academy scene.
Having aired as a three-part series on RTÉ over the end of July and August, the series highlighted a number of significant insights into youth academy football in this country.
The documentary followed a number of Shelbourne FC academy teams, in what was a historical year for the Dublin-based club. The senior men's team won the League Of Ireland Premier Division for the first time since 2006, with the Women’s team winning the Women's FAI Cup, beating Athlone Town WFC 6-1 last October.
There were a number of takeaways from watching this documentary. One that stood out was the balancing of enjoyment and passion with the competitiveness and cut-throat nature of elite level sports. There is a constant reminder of the bleak statistics of ‘making it’ as a professional footballer throughout the three episodes. One that comes to mind is when Shelbourne Academy Director, Colm Barron notes a UEFA statistic that states only 3-6% of players capped at U15 international level, become senior internationals. He goes on to mention that the statistic significantly improves from U21 to senior level, it just signifies that even the countries top talent at U15 level, have a very far way to go to become a successful professional footballer.
You almost have to remind yourself constantly that these are young kids in these pressure environments. The sacrifice it requires, from training four to five nights a week, to getting screamed at by your coach, to the possibility of being dropped as each season comes to a close. These are all highlighted throughout the series. Due to the way the LOI academy system is set up, the U15’s moves straight into the U17’s the following season, making the physical step up significant. It is revealed that only six to seven Shelbourne U15 players from that season will make the setup of the U17 setup the following year.
Another key takeaway was the important role parents play for these young athletes. The constant support they show for their children psychologically and practically by bringing their kids (as well as other kids from their team, whose parents aren’t in a position to drive) is a wholesome and touching element in the documentary. The father of talented young goalkeeper Ali Topcu admitted to quitting his job as a scaffolder to dedicate his time to giving his son lifts to and back from training. He justified it “because Ali was training with the Shelbourne first team. That's a massive opportunity for Ali”. Ali was named on the senior team bench in Shelbourne's opening Europa Conference league game at home to Hacken this month.
Over 45,000 girls play competitive football in Ireland and the progress of women's football in the last decade in this country is outlined in episode two. Shelbourne Captain Pearl Slattery, has been at the club since 2015 and she expressed the difference of the environment she was introduced with in women's football as opposed to her younger team mates. “I nearly envy what they have, what they see, the education, the environment.” “The world is their oyster when it comes to football and where you can go nowadays.” The realisation of opportunity from young female players is shown as Treaty United player Hannah Saidi explores the opportunity of heading to America to go for a football-college program.
Another aspect that can be noted from the documentary is how Football brings people of different backgrounds together. Players in Shelbourne’s academy come from all over Dublin, from Tallaght, to Howth. Midfielder Ray Offor’s father, Maurice, explained how football has helped him connect with many people. “The people I know in Balbriggan today, Irish families, I wouldn’t have met them without football.”
‘Football Families’ is a must watch for those interested in Irish sports. Not only that, it is a fascinating watch to non-sport lovers too, as the psychological challenges of these young players are unveiled.