THE FAI HAVE this evening released a second, 11-team draft fixture list for this season’s first division, which is due to kick off on 21 February.
A fixture list for a 10-team competition was released on 10 January, but has had to be amended following Limerick FC’s successful challenge for the right to apply for a licence to participate in the 2020 competition.
The FAI released a statement last week confirming Limerick are eligible for a licence, stating they are satisfied that the club came out of Examinership on 11 December last.
With Limerick now eligible to apply and their participation in the League a possibility, they have been included on the new, 11-team fixture list. The FAI emphasise that this is a “draft” set of fixtures that is based on all clubs being granted a licence, and is thus subject to change.
Following the fixture release, Bray Wanderers tweeted that “we wish to remind all fans that the new fixture list issued this evening by the [SSE Airtricity League] is still only a draft version and supporters are advised not to make concrete plans based on this fixture list until advised.”
Under this new fixture list, the league will consist of a Shield competition to be run to 20 March, with the League getting started on the 27 March. It is envisaged that the League will consist of two rounds of fixtures and the play-off structure that has been a feature of the previous two League seasons.
The original fixture list consisted of a regular, 27-game season of 10 teams.
The Independent Club Licensing Committee is due to meet next month to assess Limerick’s and all other applications to the Premier Division and First Division.
Both fixture lists include Shamrock Rovers II, whose participation in the competition has been met by fierce resistance by existing second-tier clubs.
The First Division Alliance released a statement on New Year’s Eve saying that they are “unanimous in our view that this delivers no benefits to the sporting integrity of the league”, and warned that “this sets a dangerous precedent whereby the First Division could be populated by more B teams in future years thereby further demeaning its existence as a second-tier football league in Ireland.”
Clubs have discussed boycotting games against Rovers II along with potential legal action against the National League Executive Committee and the FAI, as the controversy and discontent rumbles on.
Download the updated First Division fixture list here.
