Platt said the IFA will work with the the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) and Northern Ireland Women’s Football Association (NIWFA) to continue to grow the domestic leagues, and they will “invest our resources collectively”.
She said that there is a “real focal point” to strengthen the infrastructure of clubs in Northern Ireland to improve the competitiveness in the domestic leagues.
In Northern Ireland’s squad for the Euro 2022 finals, 13 players played their football in the Women’s Premiership in Northern Ireland.
That number had dropped to just six for February’s Nations League games, with the majority of Tanya Oxtoby’s squad now plying their trade in England or Scotland.
When asked if she sees the Women’s Premiership becoming more of a development league to set players up for a move across the water, she said the IFA was working with NIFL and NIWFA to “review the women’s football pyramid”.
“That is one of the priorities this year that we are really focusing on,” she added.
“I think it’s important to say that those players who are in a higher performance environment, it’s good for them in terms of us making sure those players are exposed to higher levels of competitions.
“That’s not to say we can’t improve the competitiveness here and there is a competitive opportunity here to make sure that we strengthen that.”
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