Ruesha Littlejohn: The Right Player at the Right Time for the Women’s League of Ireland
- Christine Allen
- Jun 1, 2025
- 5 min read
“This should be the best — the professional league — and it's not. So I think there's a lot of work to be done, and it's going to take a long time… You said we're 10 years behind England or America — I’d say probably 15.”
— Ruesha Littlejohn
I’ve always spoken up — even as a kid.
At my Communion preparation Mass, I asked, “Why can't girls be priests?”
(You can imagine how that went down - I never did get an answer.)
In the '90s, the divine figure in my life was David Beckham - not God. I didn't long to swap my upturned Cantona collar for a clerical one. But I wanted to know why I couldn't, should I one day feel...well...called to the church
(Shocker. I never did.)
Fast forward to 2024, when I started writing as a volunteer about the Women’s League of Ireland (WLOI) for an independent site.
New to the league, passionate about women’s football, with a love of writing, I was struck by the vast chasm in terms of media investment and financial backing between the Women’s Super League — which I followed religiously (pun intended) — and the WLOI.
True to form, it wasn't long before I questioned the lack of media coverage around the domestic women’s league in Ireland.
My articles gained traction and received positive feedback — but nothing changed.
Realistically, I didn’t expect them to.
While I know that I have contributed positively to the league in terms of coverage,
I didn’t have the credentials, the platform, the connections or the experience within Irish football to make a lasting impact.
Enter Ruesha Littlejohn.
The right person, in the right place, at exactly the right time.
Within minutes of making her debut for Shamrock Rovers Women, thousands of eyes watched clip after clip of the number 31 bend set piece after set piece into the back of the net. Still images from Eamonn Deacy Park were published on the Sky News website.
It was wild
Her presence at Tallaght Stadium also drew a noticeable increase in attendance as young and old (er) women, eager to see one of their senior WNT heroines on a more regular basis, travelled to the home games at Dublin 24.
But more than her goals or her profile, what's benefited players and advocates of the league most since Littlejohns arrival has been her voice — clear, confident, unapologetically honest.
A breath of fresh air.
With the exception of Peamount United captain Karen Duggan, I had never seen a domestic league player speak so candidly until Littlejohn entered the fray.
And the truth is — not everyone can.
Whether it's a lack of confidence or simply not being given the opportunity to do so — it’s difficult for players to speak critically about a league that they are actively participating in.
But Ruesha could.
And she did.
Shamrock Rovers took ALOT of stick when they entered the women's league in 2023 - namely for declaring that they would change the women's game.
But to their credit — they’ve backed it up.
They’ve invested in semi-professional contracts. Their senior women's side trains three nights a week at the same dedicated facility as the mens while their women's Academy surges from strength to strength.
Through various measures, only a handful of which are listed here, Rovers have implemented a level of professionalism for their women's setup that the rest of the league can aspire to match.
But without the funding and revenue, how can other clubs realistically follow suit?
It was Stephanie Zambra (a player who took part in the WNT player strike in 2017 that secured better facilities for the girls) who reached out to Ruesha, according to Ruesha herself.
She must have suspected, as no doubt Rovers did, that bringing Littlejohn across the water wouldn’t just serve to boost their own club's profile and squad depth, but provide other clubs and the league as a whole with a much needed spokesperson.
For this, they should be applauded.
As an outfit whose every move (both external and internal) is analysed and parsed by competitive rivals and mainstream media alike, The Hoops could not be blamed for being risk averse.
Bringing Ruesha Littlejohn into the fold was somewhat of a gamble: Littlejohn was never going to abide by rules (should they exist - in the vast majority of clubs, there is always an element of media training) in terms of media speak. She talks plainly, truthfully — and publicly.
To their credit, Rovers have backed her anyway.
Whether it’s in her humorous calling out of trolls of the women's league on social media, her candid interviews on podcasts where she draws full attention to the gulf between Ireland and other footballing nations, Ruesha brings clarity and courage.
She’s different. She’s bold.
She’s exactly what this league needs.
But we also need to be honest — the mammoth task of overhauling our women's league is far too great a burden to place on one person.
Ruesha can raise her voice, but if no one’s listening — if her words aren’t supported, echoed, and acted upon in a tangible way— we risk losing that voice. And that would be a massive loss.
But let’s not kid ourselves: football institutions don’t always welcome those who are outspoken. And if that doesn't change, it could very well be our downfall.
We should be fostering the Ruesha Littlejohn's and Olivia O’Toole's of this world — players and former who are using their platforms, their podcasts, and their profiles to amplify the women's game in Ireland. We need people who live and breathe this — those who aren’t satisfied with women's football being a nice to have. An afterthought.
I try to do my part.
I've questioned the perceived camera production quality of the women's league versus the men's on LOITV for example.
I've diplomatically highlighted that the League of Ireland social media page regularly shares heat maps and very intricate data for the men’s teams (number of touches on the ball for example) — but not for the women’s. Why?
These aren't cheap shots and may be seen as minor slights in the broad scheme of things but if we let the smaller pieces slide, where do we draw the line?
Progress has been made. Archived match recordings, improved visibility — those working behind the scenes are clearly putting in the creative effort in terms of media promotion for the women's league, likely on limited budgets.
But we need to expect — and demand — more.
And that's just one side of the coin.
Ruesha has spoken extensively about the grassroots investment required to ensure that our female footballers are developed on a level playing field with their counterparts abroad.
She has floated the idea of utilising club relationships to bring players back from overseas — even on loan — so that Ireland’s top league can benefit from their experience, fitness, and tactical development. It’s a smart idea. And it speaks to the larger goal: a stronger, more competitive Women’s Premier Division.
Because right now, too many players are forced to train part-time and play part-time.
That might be fine for the grassroots. But as Littlejohn has highlighted, it’s not good enough for the top tier in Ireland.
This league should be professional.
Ambitious.
Elite.
It’s hard to hear that we’re 15 years behind England or the U.S.
But the alternative?
Burying our heads in the sand and staying exactly as we are.
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Littlejohns latest interview 👇🎙️with Irish Football Fan TV [click the blank space directly below this line - the hyperlink is there]
