Discovering the magic that a good book can possess is what the Republic of Ireland Women's National Team are hoping to transfer to thousands of girls & women around the country.

Both Amber Barrett and Rianna Jarrett are fully aware of their influence as role models for what they do on the pitch, but they want to inspire young girls to also be creative and confident away from football.

One of the fun ways of doing that is by reading a good book. Hence the idea of starting a WNT Book Club to highlight the many excellent books available on women's football, but mainly just to encourage girls to read more.

Hosted by RTÉ journalist Marie Crowe, Episode 1 sees Barrett & Jarrett discuss 'Under the Lights and In the Dark: Untold Stories of Women's Soccer' by Gwendolyn Oxenham.

This is the first episode in a series that will see the Ireland internationals review books that they enjoyed, discuss their favourite passages and ultimately show that the love of reading is something to share with others.

Jarrett believes that there are no barriers to becoming a reader, even if she was not an avid reader early on. "I remember growing up in school, all I wanted to read & write about was football. My teacher told me I should broaden my horizon when it came to my writing and encouraged me to read more.

"As I got older I gravitated towards picking up the odd book here and there. Once I found something that I was into I got hooked on it. And it doesn't have to be football, it can be on anything. I read all different kinds of books and that is the beauty of it."

Barrett previously worked with Fighting Words - a creative writing centre who help children & adults through programmes & workshops - and a future initiative with them will be rolled out in upcoming Ireland WNT camps.

GET TICKETS NOW - IRELAND v AUSTRALIA

International Friendly
Republic of Ireland v Australia
Tuesday, September 21
Tallaght Stadium
KO 19:00
LIVE on RTÉ2
Tickets on sale now