AS AOIFE MANNION celebrated historic FA Women’s Cup glory with Manchester United at Wembley, she had minimal trouble finding her people in the crowd.
Over 76,000 were present as United beat Tottenham 4-0 earlier this month, but the Republic of Ireland international was able to locate her family thanks to a banner from Mayo.
Her mother is from Ballinrobe — her father’s roots are in Galway — and the local school regularly travel to games to support.
“There were 25 of us who came over,” Mannion says, “and we had a school from Ballinrobe, one of the teachers is a family friend and she brings over the kids.
“They have been to the Aviva, they were in the Emirates when we played Arsenal and she always brings the same banner, her daughter and her daughter’s school friends, so I clocked the banner in Wembley.
“It’s not like it was 10 years ago where you can see faces in the crowd. I have seen that banner when the school has been to different games, so it was nice to see that.”
And the win itself? “It was class, an absolutely incredible experience,” Mannion, who featured as a second-half substitute, smiles.
“It’s the first trophy I won in 10 years [since the 2012/13 FA Women's Premier League Cup with Aston Villa] — the girls were all taking the mick out of me!
“It was really, really special. But like everything, just like that, it is now just a memory and I need to chase that again.”
The United men’s team followed in the footsteps of their female counterparts on Sunday gone. Mannion didn’t attend the 2-1 win over City, but did tune in from home.
There’s a new era afoot at Old Trafford; grand plans being laid, reports of increased investment and hopes for improvement under Jim Ratcliffe. The goal is to push on, the women’s side having finished fifth in the WSL.
“Definitely. It has to be. In women’s sport, whether you like it or not, you have to be making those steps. Because everyone around you is making those steps.
“So even if you think you’re improving, it’s more about the rate of improvement. There are lots of changes going on behind the scenes in terms of the size of our staff and facilities. It’s not clear to see from the outside looking in. But it’s gone to another level and with that comes expectations of what a domestic campaign should look like, and then competing with Cups.
“For us we managed to finish it off on a good note in terms of the Cup. But that’s not to say that was the sentiment across the season. So being competitive across the league season is something we need to take to the next level, be more consistent.”
“As players we are always sheltered from seeing those changes,” she continues. “But definitely they are happening,. There are new faces like Dan Ashworth the Technical Director, Omar Berrada the Chief Executive.
“There are changes happening and people who have had great reputations and have done good things in different clubs. Those changes will take time. On a day-to-day basis our days look the same. That’s not to say great things are happening, they will be. But as players, we are all sheltered from the details.”
The 28-year-old defender has been dipping her toes into coaching of late. She completed the Uefa B Licence, and is now on the first all-female A Licence course.
Coach Aoife Mannion🫡
— All For United WFC (@AllForUnitedWFC) May 29, 2024
🗣️”Excited to begin the UEFA A License coaching qualification”
📲Aoife Mannion Instagram#MUWomen pic.twitter.com/lvbEjBvZuD
Current and ex-players Beth Mead, Vivianne Miedema, Izzy Christiansen, Kim Little and Steph Houghton are among others in the “unique” cohort, as well as Sweden and Chelsea goalkeeper Zecira Musovic, who Mannion and Ireland face twice in the coming days.
“We had a few nice words when we were leaving, like see you in a few days or whatever!”
As the Girls In Green welcome Sweden to the Aviva Stadium tomorrow night, the famous 1-1 draw in Gothenburg in April 2022 will surely be on their minds.
Mannion had yet to declare at that point — she first spoke to Vera Pauw at the Champions League final the following month, but had chatted to Katie McCabe and Lucy Quinn — though she is aware of the significance of that result.
“When you have got a result against a team previously, it does make a massive difference in terms of the psychology of knowing what can be achieved. It’s not a massive jump to go one more.
“That said, the game was a while back. Sweden are in a different place, we’re in a different place. Different players, they have different tactics, different style.
“They have top-class players who are used to competing at the highest level and so it’s that balancing act and knowing you’ve got a result before. Knowing you can go with that intent to get a result while respecting the opposition as well, not underestimating them.”
