Hearts set to “adopt” the Republic of Ireland for upcoming World Cup

Hearts assistant manager Sean Burt insists the Republic of Ireland will have the backing of the Jam Tarts at the World Cup thanks to Ciara Grant.

Midfielder and the 2022/23 Hearts Player of the Season Grant was confirmed in the Republic of Ireland squad for the summer tournament last week. It is the first time the Girls in Green have made it to a World Cup after beating Scotland 1-0 in last year’s playoffs. Grant, who already accumulated 18 caps before her confirmation was on fire for Hearts last season with her performances getting her into the PFA Team of the Season.

“It’s absolutely fantastic and it is a testament to her because she had a fantastic season last year,” Burt told the Edinburgh Evening News. “Her performances warranted her to be in that World Cup squad. We knew when we had signed her that it was always a target of hers to establish herself as someone who will get regular minutes in the Irish national team. I am glad that that has paid off for her. We will probably adopt the Republic of Ireland as the team that we will support in the World Cup purely for that reason.”

The World Cup is set to start on July 20th meaning Grant will miss all of Hearts preseason including their training camp in Shropshire. The Republic of Ireland’s last group game is scheduled for July 31st with the round of 16 starting on August 5th. Hearts SWPL campaign starts on August 13th away to Hamilton making it a strong possibility that Grant also misses the start of the new campaign.