The FAI have today confirmed that the Women's National Team will face the USA in a prestigious televised friendly in May. The USA have long been a powerhouse of the women's game and they currently sit second in the world rankings.
As preparation for this summer's World Cup in Canada, the US have announced a series of friendlies and included among them is a game against Ireland in San Jose, California on May 10.
While the opportunity for Ireland to test themselves against quality opposition is good news in itself, the fact that the game will be shown live on Fox Sports 1 is undoubtedly an added incentive for many of the players given the coverage that is afforded to the women's game in the US.
Fresh from Stephanie Roche's high profile Puskas Award nomination, there's bound to be some added attention paid to the game, and following Conor McGregor's blockbuster appearance on the same channel this month, let's hope the Irish team can benefit from a similar level of exposure.
And while the added benefit of a televised game in America is sure to be on many of the player's minds, Sue Ronan, the national team manger, is stressing the importance of the game as preparation for the upcoming Euro 2017 campaign.
It’s a great game for us as part of our preparations for the Euro 2017 campaign. They are currently preparing for this summer’s World Cup and will be going into that tournament as one of the favourites so it is another excellent test for us and it will be a very good experience for our young players.
