AVIVA Soccer Sisters to WNT: Abbie Larkin

Apr 8 2022

Aviva Ireland has released a video featuring Republic of Ireland Women’s National Team and Shelbourne FC rising star Abbie Larkin.

In the video, Abbie looks back on the influence the Aviva Soccer Sisters Easter Camps had on her rise through the ranks of Irish football, ahead of Ireland’s crucial FIFA Women's World Cup Qualifying match against Sweden on Tuesday, April 12th.

Abbie attended her first Aviva Soccer Sisters camp in 2012, at the age of six. As one of the most promising players on these shores, Abbie has had the honour of captaining her country at underage level. Her excellent form domestically with Shelbourne in the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League has seen her earn her first international cap, making her senior debut against Russia in the Pinatar Cup earlier this year.

In the video, shot at Abbie’s hometown club, Cambridge FC in Ringsend, she talks through her formative years in grassroots football, learning her trade as she pitted herself against boys her own age at her local club. Larkin talks about the influence her first experience of the Aviva Soccer Sisters camps had on her, as she got the chance to play alongside girls her own age and learned to dream big.

Abbie’s time in the Aviva Soccer Sisters programme also gave her the chance to brush shoulders with some of her footballing icons including Stephanie Roche, who one day she would go on to emulate by leading the line for the ‘Girls in Green’. Invited to play at half-time in a match at Aviva Stadium in 2017, Abbie’s path also crossed with legendary Irish footballer and then assistant coach, Roy Keane. A trailblazer in her own right, she achieved what many don’t in bringing a smile to the Corkman’s face with her line of questioning. You can take a look at the full video HERE.

Abbie will be in contention to win her first competitive cap on Tuesday as Vera Pauw’s charges take on a highly rated Sweden team at 17:30 Irish time in Gothenburg. Tuesday also sees the return of Aviva Soccer Sisters Easter Camps to in-person camps for the first time since 2019, with thousands of young footballers already signed up and hoping to follow in Abbie’s footsteps.

The three-day camps, open to all girls aged six to 14, will take place over two weeks. The first set of camps take place between Tuesday April 12th – Thursday 14th and the second set of camps kick off on Tuesday April 19th, with the camps coming to a close on Thursday April 21st. Each camp will take place over three days and will cost €30. Participants will receive an Aviva Soccer Sisters training top, football and a certificate on completing the camp. Registrations for this year’s Aviva Soccer Sisters Easter Camps can be accessed via www.aviva.ie/soccersisters.

For more information and to keep up to date with this year’s Aviva Soccer Sisters Easter Camps, along with updates on the Football Association of Ireland’s Women’s National Team, follow Aviva Ireland on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.