Northern Ireland's senior women will not have February fixtures
- Published
Northern Ireland played Switzerland, the Faroe Islands and Romania last February in Marbella
Northern Ireland's senior women's team will not have a training camp or any matches in February.
England, Scotland, Wales and the Republic of Ireland all have fixtures scheduled.
Northern Ireland are without a manager after Kenny Shiels left his role at the beginning of February.
The Irish FA says "planning is well under way" for camps in April and July, and both international windows will see the team play friendly fixtures.
The senior team are now set to have a five-month gap between November's win over Italy and the next international break in April.
There is no competitive action until the autumn when the inaugural Women's Nations League begins, ahead of the start of Euro 2025 qualifying in April 2024.
In comparison to Northern Ireland's lack of action, England will face Italy, Belgium and South Korea in the Arnold Clark Cup from 16-22 February.
The Republic of Ireland will play China in Algeciras as preparations for the World Cup continue, while Wales and Scotland are both competing in the Pinatar Cup in Spain alongside the Philippines and Iceland.
Northern Ireland have previously featured in the Pinatar Cup and Turkish Cup, and played friendlies in Spain and England in previous February international breaks.
Northern Ireland's Under-17s and Under-19s, who are also both without a manager, will hold a training camp this month.
The Under-17s will play two Euro 2023 qualifiers in March while the Under-16s are featuring in a development tournament in Bulgaria in the same month.
"It's really great to see so many of our girls' and women's international programmes getting under way again," said Angela Platt, director of women's football at the Irish FA.
"I welcome the many opportunities for our players to be involved in ongoing development through international camps and competitions, a key area of focus as we ensure we develop our girls' and women's elite pathway programmes."
Analysis
With the departure of Shiels and with no interim boss set to be appointed, the lack of training camp in February raises further uncertainty around women's football in Northern Ireland despite the highs of Euro 2022.
Momentum is all-important and players and fans alike will be hoping the five-month gap between matches does not derail the progress that has been made so far.
In saying that, the lack of competitive football until the autumn provides the IFA with plenty of time to appoint Shiels' successor, an appointment that will be crucial if Northern Ireland are to build on a historic 2022.