THE RULES OF LADIES' FOOTBALL

It is only in the last twenty-five years that women have played Gaelic Football competitively. In the early days it was a ‘novelty’ to see a woman or girl play football. Women were generally regarded as tea and sandwich makers at the matches, or they went to the games only to cheer on their husbands.
It is true to say that the majority of women at the time did not want to participate in these ‘male’ games, although many women did rebel and tried to form sporting clubs of their own, but many of these never took off the ground.
Men frowned upon women participating in Gaelic games. They viewed there efforts as ‘spur of the moment’ and that in time the novelty would wear off. Slowly but surely the women’s game became more popular. Ladies’ football clubs began to sprout up around the country. Small competitions were organised and club membership continued to increase. The Ladies’ Football Association was founded in 1974. As with the GAA, the ladies governing body was also formed in Hayes’s Hotel in Thurles, Co Tipperary. Only four counties were represented at the first meeting. The counties involved were Tipperary, Kerry, Galway and Offaly. Since 1974 over 30,000 members have joined the Ladies’ Football Association. Ladies’ Football is not only played at All-Ireland senior level. There are many competitions played in each individual county, while at inter-county level there are also All-Ireland championship matches played at Junior, Minor and under-16 level.
Kerry have been the most successful team over the years. Other dominant counties include Monaghan, Laois and Waterford. Monaghan will play Waterford in this years All-Ireland final. The first Ladies All-Ireland final to be played in Croke Park was in 1989. Ladies’ football is similar to the men’s game. Each team consists of fifteen players. One goalkeeper, six defenders, two center midfielders and six forwards. Inter county and club teams will wear there own distinctive colours. In all football matches the goalkeeper will wear a different colour jersey to her teams players. Ladies’ football is not as dangerous as camogie so protective clothing is not necessary.
Each year Inter county and club teams compete in various competitions. The most famous and respected competition of all is the All-Ireland championship. This is a knockout championship that runs during the summer months and only county teams are eligible to play. Early in the year a draw is made to decide which teams will play each other. Venues are decided upon and the matches are played.
Winning teams progress to the next round while losing teams are eliminated and must wait until the following years championship to try again. The winning teams in the Semi-Finals proceed to the All-Ireland final, played on the last Sunday in September. The All-Ireland Final is played at Croke Park, Dublin.
The ball is officially in play once the referee has given the signal for the game to start or restart. The ball will remain in play until: the referee signals the game to stop the ball has passed over any of the boundary lines the ball is touched in play by anyone other than a player. The ball can be struck with the hand and kicked. Players may kick the ball from the ground or out of their hands. When a player is making an attack with the ball in their hands they may not exceed the maximum of four consecutive steps. If a player wants to continue the move she must either bounce the ball off the ground or ‘toe-tap’ it. A toe tap is to release the ball from the hands to the foot and kick it back to the hands in one flowing movement. A skilful player must be able to retain possession while ‘toe-tapping’ the ball in attack. Physical contact, such as ‘side-charging’ players is not permitted in Ladies’ football and as a result of this we regularly see an open free flowing game.

(This is a table of the GAA in Ireland.)

(The Play)
(SET PLAY)
If the ball goes out of play over the sideline the referee will award a ‘sideline kick’. The player taking the kick must kick the ball out of their hands or from the ground. Under no circumstances can the player throw the ball into play as in soccer.
(SCORING)
In Ladies Football there are two methods of recording scores. A ‘point’ is scored when the ball is played over the crossbar between the posts by either team. A ‘goal’ is scored when the ball is played over the goal line between the posts and under the crossbar by either team. In both Ladies Football and Camogie a goal is equal to three points. Points are generally easier to score than goals as the goalkeeper will be unable to save a high kicked ball. The winning team is the one that outscores their opponents
(OFFICIALS)
The referee is the official in charge of the game. The referee is assisted by two linesman and four umpires. The referee plays a central role in the game following the play on the pitch, while two umpires take up position at each of the two goals. The linesmen follow the game from the sidelines. The referees decision is final, but the two linesmen and the four umpires may be called upon for additional input into a decision made by the referee. The linesmen and umpires, also known as officials, act as extra ‘eyes’ for the referee.
(FOULS)
There are many ways that a player can commit a foul. Technical fouls include: (a) throwing the ball instead of hand passing it, (b) deliberately placing your body over the ball thereby ‘killing’ the ball, (c) wrestling the ball from an opponent who has caught the ball, (d) to bounce the ball more than once consecutively after catching it. * - It should be noted that in Ladies football, players are allowed to pick the ball straight from the ground, but this action must be completed in a standing position only. Players will not usually be booked for committing technical fouls as they are seen as minor offences. However players will be booked for aggressive fouls: (a) to kick or attempt to kick an opponent, (b) to stamp on an opponent (c) to behave in a dangerous fashion towards an opponent (d) to strike or attempt to strike an official All of these acts constitute aggressive fouls The third form of foul in Gaelic Games is called ‘Dissent’. Dissent is to openly disagree with any official about any decision.
(BOOKINGS)
This November sees the introduction of a yellow and red card system. If the referee decides a player has committed a foul, he/she may decide to warn the player. A yellow card constitutes the first warning. If a player receives two yellow cards then she is sent off. A referee may also give a player a red card straight away if they believe the foul committed was serious. The referee will point in the direction of the sideline and the player will leave the pitch. The referee’s gesture of pointing to the sideline is to allow the crowd understand his decision.