Jess Lawton Confirmed as WU17 & WU19 Manager

Cork City FC are delighted to confirm that Jess Lawton will oversee the club’s Under 17 and 19 women’s teams for the 2022 season.

Jess managed the Under 19s last season, as well as coaching with the first team, and will now move into a new role where she will oversee both sides as the club looks to build on the success of recent years at Under 17 level and continue developing young players from across Munster and promoting them along the pathway to first team football in the WNL.

Commenting on the news, Jess Lawton said: “I am very pleased to be taking on the role with the Under 17s. There has been some great work done at that level for the last number of years, and we want to now build on that. The addition of the Under 19 league has helped build a pathway to first team football, so I look forward to working with the players and coaches of both teams in order to help them in their footballing journey. There is real talent there at underage level and we want to continue our policy of developing players and giving them the chance to play at the highest level they can.”

Paul Farrell, manager of the women’s first team, commented: “This is a positive appointment for us and I know that Jess is someone who is passionate about coaching young players and bringing them through. With her overlooking both teams, I think we hope to have a solid and consistent basis on which to operate, while she also has strong links with the first team which will help us as we bid to promote players up through the age groups, hopefully all the way to first team level.”

Éanna Buckley, the club’s Chief Operating Officer, welcomed the development saying: “We are all very keen to build on the progress that has been made in recent years. Having Jess oversee both of the teams will assist in terms of player pathways and development. We want to see more of what we have seen in the last couple of years, namely players from Cork and around Munster developing within the club structures and progressing on to the first team. There are a lot of very talented players at underage level and we are committed to helping them in their development to try and help them go as far in the game as they can.”