Feeling 15 Again

Orla Smyth, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Goal Click have teamed up with EE to tell the stories of UK grassroots teams born out of adversity - that have overcome hate with hope, with the aim of making the beautiful game more inclusive for all. Because there is a place in football for everyone.

Orla Smyth plays for the “Rosario Social Women’s Group”, a group of women in southern Belfast who organise a weekly football session. Born out of Rosario Football Club, the cross-community football club with a long history, the Social Women’s Group provides an opportunity for those who do not play competitive football to still engage in the game, regardless of age or ability. In one of the most diverse areas of Belfast, the team prioritises a welcome-all attitude. 

Inspired? To find your place in football, in Northern Ireland, head here.

Can you introduce yourself and tell us how your football life began?

My name is Orla Smyth. I am 43, from Belfast, and am the owner of Kaffe O, a coffee chain in Northern Ireland. I have played football since I was a very young child, mostly with my older brother and his mates before joining my first proper girls’ team at 11, when I first joined Rosario!  

In the last three years I have returned to playing football after a nearly 20-year break! I stopped being able to play football at 21 when I developed renal failure and had two kidney transplants. I joined Rosario Social Women’s football when the advice on transplanted people playing football was changed. I was given the green light to play again, though only on a social level.

What has your football journey been up until now? 

Growing up, there were not really any proper structures for girls. In primary school I played with the boys’ team, but then in secondary school I was not allowed and there were no girls’ teams.

I started playing for my local youth club Rosario at 11 and we competed in a small five-a-side league for girls in Belfast. We were indebted to people in the club who organised the girls’ team and drove us to matches when girls’ football was not the glamorous option! 

At 14 my friend Claire and I joined a senior women’s side in Belfast called Probation Strikes, which later became Belfast United, and we started to play in the senior women’s 11-a-side league. During my time playing for Belfast United I was selected to represent the Boys and Girls Clubs (NI) and the Northern Ireland Under 17 squad. 

I will always appreciate the more experienced players who took me under their wing and who drove me and my friend around the country when we were selected for the international side. 

I continued to play football and played for my university until I developed renal failure at 21. After I stopped playing, I spent a large part of my 20s being unwell, on dialysis, and having two kidney transplants. 

But recently I have been involved in setting up the first NI Transplant Football team, which is a mixed team of people who have all had major organ transplants - kidney, liver, and heart. We played our first tournament at the British Transplant Games in Leeds in July 2022.

What did you try to capture with your photos? Was there a wider meaning with the photos?

The photos were taken at Rosario Social Women’s training, where we meet once a week to train. These are all women who I play with in the social team and are people I only connected with when I joined the team. I am also back playing with my friend Claire who I played with growing up. In the interim she had a very successful footballing and coaching career. To be honest I feel 15 again when I am back playing with her!

I wanted to show how much fun we have, and that our training is a time of the week for pure escapism from reality.

What are the opportunities for women's players to participate in your community?

There are fantastic opportunities for women’s footballers now and watching how strong the youth setup for girls is at Rosario is something I am very proud to see. They really have invested so much time and effort and now also have a women's team competing in the senior league. The future looks bright as there are great structures in place, which will mean it will only go from strength to strength.

What role does football play in your life and in your community?

Football plays a massive part in the community, and it is the hub of a lot of things which are happening on the Ormeau Road - which is where I was born and grew up, where my first football clubs (including Rosario) were based, and where I opened my first business, the Kaffe O coffee shop. It is mad that I have been playing football on a pitch since primary school that my first shop now looks at every day! 

I run competitively, but it is lovely to play football on a purely social basis purely for fun without the pressure or stress. Rosario Social Women’s Group has reignited my love for the game when I never thought I would be able to play again. It is such a supportive and welcoming environment.

At this age, I would just like to continue playing socially without picking up any injuries! I hope to spend some more time establishing and growing the NI Transplant Football team too.

How important is it for male allies to fight sexist abuse?

It is important that we all stand up against sexist abuse and it is not tolerated in any sections of our community. There have been massive advances made in this area since I was playing competitively 20 years ago, and I certainly have not heard many examples of the abuse and views I used to hear over 20 years ago. But it is something we all must continue to work at too.

Series edited by Emma Walley.