Scotland’s performance leagues is next ambition for Inverness Caley Thistle’s girls’ academy sides after multiple trophies in 2024
Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s under-14 reds girls’ squad won a play-off to become Highland League champions – capping off a trophy laded 2024 for the academy.
A 3-1 victory against Forres was enough for ICT to win the division, which is named after the club’s former star Rachel McLauchlan.
That trophy adds to the triumph of another ICT under-14s group who won a tournament hosted by Hibernian earlier in the season, as well as the under-16s who won the North Cup.
Caley Thistle’s head of the girls’ academy Paul Beaton says those are landmark moments for the set-up in what at times has been a difficult year.
“It’s been a very tough year this year to be fair,” he reflected.
“There were a lot of changes in personnel, and a few obstacles that were thrown in our way, but we’ve managed to get to the end of the season with some silverware on the shelf, so we’re quite happy.
“For our 16s, I set high expectations at the start of the year because they are a very good side.
“We got the North Cup, which was good, and we had a really good run in the Scottish Cup, and when we went out it was a very close game that went to extra time.
“Most of them will be bouncing up to the 18s for next season, and I have big expectations for them again to be honest.
“We actually had three 14s teams this year. Our older, North 14s team were kind of a team thrown together as a mix of two squads from last year, but we eventually got them gelling and they went down to the Hibs tournament and won that.
“They got to the North Cup Plate final, and won that too, so they had a very good season and surpassed my expectations to be fair.
“We had two teams playing in the Highland League - our Blue 14s, who are very new to football but had a great season; and our Red 14s who tied at the top with Forres and then won the play-off game.
“They probably went into that league a season earlier than we would have expected last year and won their cup. Now they’ve won the league, and they have another year at 14s.”
Those successes beg the question of what comes next – both in terms of achievement and player development.
As one of the giants of the north scene at this point, Beaton would love nothing more than to test his youngsters on a national level.
However, that may be easier said than done as ICT would need an application to the performance leagues to be accepted by other clubs competing in the division.
“We’re pushing to get them into the performance leagues next year, so that will be another step up again,” Beaton continued.
“We’re trying to move more towards an elite set-up, which I have to say is all credit to the girls and how dedicated they are. I can’t actually praise them enough for the work that they put in.
“I’m up and down the road a lot, so from what I’ve seen the standard of football our girls are playing at can compete with the clubs down south.
“We just have to give them the opportunity to go and pitch themselves against these clubs in the central belt. I want to showcase the talent we’ve got up here, and the level we can actually play at.
“It’s difficult to get in, because none of these teams really want to be travelling up to Inverness to play us.
“We always hit obstacles that way where teams vote against letting us in, but with the way our academy is set-up and the standards we are reaching, nobody can argue against us.
“Whenever we take girls down to tournaments, we are always one of the best teams, so everyone is talking about us. The next logical step is to enter these leagues and try to get the girls to go up another level.”
• Inverness Caledonian Thistle’s girls academy is on the lookout for new players and coaches – if you are interested, find more information on the academy’s social media channels