IT’S GOING TO be a big summer for soccer fans, with the Irish women’s football team set to take part in the World Cup for the first time.

If you’re already a fan, you’ll know this was years in the making – and the fights for parity they had along the way. But you might not know much about the team, and want to know what to expect as they prepare for this massive competition.

This week on The Explainer we have the perfect pairing to explain it to you: Sinéad O’Carroll, longtime passionate fan of the team, and Emma Duffy, reporter and expert from our sister site The42.ie.

They talk about the qualification and what it means, the latest on that controversy which resulted from their singing of an IRA chant in their dressing room, when the World Cup takes place, the players to watch, and more besides. 

https://soundcloud.com/the-explainer-podcast/whats-the-story-with-the-womens-football-world-cup/s-gv1RasKUNPr?si=64fd34394d2440ddb810aa7462ffed54&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This episode was put together by presenters Sinéad O’Carroll and Michelle Hennessy, and producers Aoife Barry and Nicky Ryan.