The Ireland Men's & Women's Cerebral Palsy squads will get their 2026 World Cup campaigns underway this week in the United States.

The International Federation of Cerebral Palsy Football (IFCPF) is running both the Men's & Women's tournament together in Atlanta, Georgia, starting from Wednesday, October 14th.

With support from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), the two squads made the trip following a preparation training camp in the FAI National Training Centre.

The Ireland Men's squad are led by FAI Coach Development Lead Paul Smyth, while the Women's squad are overseen by FAI Women & Girls' Lead Aisling Conway.

The Men's squad benefits from having nine players involved with previous World Cup experience, including Dillon Sheridan who scored five goals as Ireland finished 10 overall.

For this tournament, they have been drawn into Group C to take on Indonesia (Thursday, October 15th), Japan (Friday, October 16th) and England (Sunday, October 18th).

The Women's squad will come up against Australia (Friday, October 16th), the Netherlands (Saturday, October 17th) and Colombia (Monday, October 19th) in Group B.

There are seven players included who represented Ireland at the last IFCPF World Cup in Spain, where the team secured the Bronze Medal for their first ever World Cup involvement.

Ireland Men's Cerebral Palsy Squad
Goalkeepers: Luke Staunton (Roscommon), Ruadhan Dooley MacDonough (Tipperary)

Defenders: Conor Halpin (Dublin), Carl McKee (Dublin), Darren Martin (Monaghan)

Midfielders: Ryan Nolan (Wicklow), James Bateman (Tipperary), Jake Hannon (Kildare), Eric O’Flaherty (Galway), Aaron Tier (Limerick)

Forwards: Dillon Sheridan (Dublin), Darryl Fay (Dublin), Jack O’ Sullivan (Cork), Warren Morrissey (Dublin)

Staff: Paul Smyth (Head Coach), Brian Dorrian (Assistant Coach), Thomas Hughes (Coach), Will Donohoe (Physio), Bobby Moore (Equipment Officer) 

Ireland Women's Cerebral Palsy Squad
Goalkeeper: Reeva Merriman (Kildare)

Defenders: Casey Heaney (Westmeath), Elsie Friel (Donegal), Isobel Clarke (Dublin), Aisling Duncan (Longford)

Midfielders: Katie Finegnan (Dublin), Ella Sherlock (Dublin)

Forwards: Eva Walsh (Dublin), Kate Connolly (Waterford), Robyn Ennis (Offaly)

Staff: Aisling Conway (Head Coach), Conor McKahey (Assistant Coach), Clodagh McGrath (Coach), Andrea McCormack (Physio), Ellen Tinnelly (Equipment Officer)

2026 IFCPF World Cup Fixtures
Thursday, October 15th | Ireland Men v Indonesia Men
Friday, October 16th | Australia Women v Ireland Women
Friday, October 16th | Ireland Men v Japan Men
Saturday, October 17th | Netherlands Women v Ireland Women
Sunday, October 18th | England Men v Ireland Men
Monday, October 19th | Ireland Women v Colombia Women