RTÉ kicks off new documentary series Football Families, featuring some of Ireland’s most talented young players

This series highlights some of Shelbourne Football Club’s finest players and their families

Begins Thursday July 31 at 10.10pm on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player

This July, RTÉ presents Football Families, a three-part documentary series featuring Shelbourne Football club’s most promising young talent from across the country as they strive to make it as professional footballers.

The series offers unique behind-the-scenes access to Shelbourne F.C., filmed during their historic 2024 season under manager Damien Duff. For Shelbourne fans, 2024 was the stuff of dreams, with both the men and women’s senior teams winning titles, and the underage squads making a big impact throughout the elite development leagues.

Each episode of Football Families tells the stories of different young players and their families, whose lives revolve around football. These teenagers are committed to achieving their dreams in the face of extreme pressure, injuries, and setbacks.

The series follows them as they endeavour to make the big step up to the league champion squad in the dog-eat-dog world of professional football. The chances of making it are slim.

Shelbourne Academy Director Colm Barron said: “Stats prove that there’s a lot of players who don’t make it. That percentage that have that mental focus, that resilience to get through – it’s not one in a hundred, it’s one in ten thousand.”

Speaking in the documentary on what it takes to make it, then Shelbourne F.C. Manager Damien Duff said: “I hope us winning the league is inspiring the next generation of young boys and girls to work hard and chase their dreams of making it as professional footballers. But they can’t get carried away. They may be blessed with talent and work really hard, but most of them won’t make it. That’s how cutthroat football is.”

At the heart of the programme are the young players and their families from across the country, who gather on the sidelines, chat around the kitchen table over dinner, and go above and beyond to give everything to the game.

These young players are hard-working and determined, from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities, and all have the same dream of being scouted or signed in Ireland or further afield. Their stories highlight the pressure they are under as they cope with the harsh reality of elite level football.

The first episode of Football Families airs on Thursday July 31 on RTÉ One and RTÉ Player at 10:10pm, and runs for three weeks.

-Ends- 

Note to Editors:
This is a ShinAwiL production.

For more information contact:
Kate Smyth, RTÉ Communications Lead