Gail Redmond, Head Coach at Glentoran Women’s FC, was honoured this week with the highly prestigious Gamechanger Award at this year’s Belfast Telegraph Sports Awards.
Gail’s initial response was to say: “This award came as a total shock, given the great people like Bethany Firth (Swimming), Gemma Begley (GAA) and my friend Ashley Hutton, who won her 100th cap this season. So, I feel really privileged. In fact, I really thought I’d finally made it when Dame Mary Peters gave me a hug on my way back to the table.”.
Gail has been with Glentoran as player then coach for twelve years. Prior to that she had left for Mississippi at eighteen on a soccer scholarship. As well as playing there, she did her coaching badges and by 24 she was the youngest coach in USA division one, a feat achieved in four years. “This gave me the confidence to develop a career in football as I was full time, managing a budget of $350,000, and running the course I had studied. I had plenty of other opportunities there, but I’m very loyal and stuck with my own college to give back some of what I had got from the college. “
Gail returned to Northern Ireland in 2008, immediately joining Glentoran, where the Women’s team was run by her good friend Cheryl Lamont. In her time as a player with us, Gail won an incredible sixteen winners’ medals – including two trebles and two doubles. She also played three times in the Champions League. She also played 25 times for Northern Ireland, a number limited by the time spent in the USA in an era when even international players were expected to pay their own way!
Asked by www.glentoran.com about her career highlights, Gail said: “I just feel very privileged to have had my journey. The States was a great adventure at 18, and my greatest milestone there was being made Head coach at 24. Playing and captaining my country was also a great honour.
When I returned, as well as joining the Glens, I also took up a full-time position at the IFA (Gail is now Women’s Domestic Manager at the IFA Foundation). Before I joined the IFA there were no youth leagues in Women’s football, so we started with two leagues and sixteen teams. Now we have over fifty teams in five leagues, not counting the grass roots. We also have one thousand playing from ages 5-11 under IFA auspices.
Part of the reason I was humbled to win this award is that I partner with a lot of people and organisations. Electric Ireland has been a real game changer for the women’s game through their sponsorship. Their commitment and value of us has really increased my own self-worth. So, thanks to Anne and Claire at Electric Ireland.
Thanks also to Billy Clarke here at Glentoran. Billy is the main man and it’s a privilege to work with him. I feed off Billy’s enthusiasm and motivation and that feeds my own motivation. Billy works tirelessly as a volunteer and Glentoran and women’s football here owes everything to him.”
On the future, Gail – a non-executive director since 2018 with responsibility for women’s football – said: “We have a really strong academy and we want to build winning teams at all levels. Three cups last season was great, but we really want to go for the title. Injuries to key players hit us at just the wrong time last season.”
The citation from the Belfast Telegraph judges said of Gail: “With all the work she does for women’s football and with the Glentoran Women’s team, it’s amazing that Gail Redmond has any free time to just sit down and relax!
An incredible 2019 saw Redmond lead Glentoran to a phenomenal treble, but she also continued her tireless work as women’s development manager with the IFA, to try and promote the women’s and girl’s game as much as possible.
In her coaching role, the Glens were unstoppable at all levels, seeing off all comers to romp to a domestic cup clean sweep of the Irish Cup, League Cup and Co Antrim Trophy, but her impact even goes beyond the pitch. Redmond also directs the club’s academy programmes and sits on the board of the club, making her role so much more than just first-team manager.
But even beyond that, her work for the women’s game as a whole is unparalleled in Northern Ireland. With the IFA, Redmond led the writing and implementation of a new strategy for the women’s game in Northern Ireland, which aims to have as many women and girls taking up the sport as possible and grow the impact of the game across the nation.
As well as that, Redmond is currently working towards gaining her UEFA Pro Licence and would be only the second Northern Irish woman to achieve it, reflecting her passion and undying work ethic towards the game.
On top of all that, Redmond gave birth to her second child in November, meaning as well as balancing all of these different achievements, she also had to factor in the tough task of being a mother to a new-born baby, too!
It is indisputable that Redmond is an incredible footballing role model for women and girls across Northern Ireland and a deserving winner of our Game Changer award!”
Billy Clarke, General Manager, Glentoran Women: “Gail has been a tremendous asset to Glentoran Women’s football club since she returned from coaching in USA. Her influence, playing in midfield was evident in our years of trophy winning successes and Women’s Champions League participation. When she moved into a coaching role within the club, she developed a great affinity players and coaching staff at all levels. Her coaching influence within the first team squad has been a major reason for our trophy success of the past two seasons. Gail continues to coach within our girls’ academy, mentoring our coaching staff and players”.
Well done Gail. We’re all very proud of you!
