Ireland’s u22 Women’s team have been handed a plum draw in the upcoming CEV European Championship qualifiers.
Our youngsters (born 2003 or later) will take on Portugal, Ukraine and Denmark on the Atlantic coast in mid-July, the exact venue is tbc.
The squad may feature the likes of Sophie Quinlivan-Nolan, Emma Byrne and Jillian Sweeney who have impressed for Mark Delahunty’s senior team in recent months. In fact, eight of Delahunty’s panel from the Novotel Cup in Luxembourg are eligible for selection.
The top two teams in the pool will head to Italy for the finals in Summer 2024.
Performance & Pathways Manager Matt Hanlon said, “It’s an exciting draw with some really good teams to test ourselves against. This tournament will build on the experiences the girls have gained at Small nations level and of course the recent training camp with Club Italia.”
This will be first time our female athletes have competed at this level, with the u22 Men’s team going toe-to-toe with Italy, Portugal and Israel at the same stage last year.
It’s a busy few months for National team activity with u18 and u20 Junior tournaments and Snr Men and Women’s team in action at Small Nations level.
