20 Teams, 2 Divisions, 1 National League

[Kiki Balboa]

The suggested National League sounds more like a potential Fourth Tier! Seems a backward step to invite clubs who have not built their academy structures. Maybe that will be part of the licencing for promotion to the First Division.
Progressive first teams with academy structures and progressive second teams e.g. Shamrock Rovers could potentially suit a Second Division.

If a 3rd Tier was to come in, and you were hoping to bring in regional teams, you will probably need a way to start grading academies. You cant have so many 'elite' academies, and you have to be weary to diluting LOI underage. If you are expanding LOI to new clubs, there probably needs to be a new stream of a underage competition (lets say an LOI B), rather than just expanding the current set-up.

Might help the gap between established LOI set-ups and new teams wanting to enter LOI.

[legendz]

Have the FAI actually confirmed that LoI second teams can take part?
Even at this early stage of Kerry's development, following some of the signings in the off season, I'd like to see Kerry consider a second team for the local players coming through the academy. Limerick FC and Finn Harps were proactive in fielding second teams in the A Championship, despite not being obliged to do so when in the First Division.

[culloty82]

Can't imagine Limerick FC being approved, given the hammerings their underage sides have been getting, but they're reportedly applying:

https://leagueofirelandtalk.wordpress.com/2025/02/19/limerick-fc-to-apply-for-fai-national-league/

[Shearer]

If it's on the Internet it must be true!

[Burnsie]

every other applicant will earn full marks under the heading "not owned by Pat O'Sullivan"

[EatYerGreens]

So do we have a list of clubs which have stated that they will be applying?

[nr637]

So do we have a list of clubs which have stated that they will be applying?

If you look back over previous posts you will see numerous clubs mentioned. You can bet that many of them have been added because of their potential. I reckon too, that fans with insider contacts have added these names to see the response and reaction.

You could choose several clubs names from the list who have definitely made inquiries to the FAI and have also applied!

[pineapple stu]

So "No" is the answer then?

Betting that clubs have been mentioned for their potential isn't the same as them stating they'll be applying.

[nr637]

So "No" is the answer then?

Betting that clubs have been mentioned for their potential isn't the same as them stating they'll be applying.

From what I have read Mayo FC have applied and a junior Galway club, CK United and Kildare and 2/3 from the LSL in the Leinster region. Limerick FC have applied. 1 club in the Donegal area and UCC have shown interest.

As usual there are rumours and names being put around, which is great as I believe there is a huge interest.

[ger121]

Any chance of a mid to south Wicklow Team? I’ve seen Arklow mentioned and also Gorey Rangers.

[El-Pietro]

Any chance of a mid to south Wicklow Team? I’ve seen Arklow mentioned and also Gorey Rangers.

Do we really need a third Wicklow team?

[Roones26]

The deadline has past. How quickly will things move with a short season expected in 12-15 months ?

[ger121]

Do we really need a third Wicklow team?

Bray and Rovers mean nothing in these parts of the garden of Ireland.

[culloty82]

The one club we definitively know has applied is St Francis:

https://www.extratime.com/articles/35520/st-francis-express-interest-in-joining-league-of-ireland-third-tier/

[legendz]

“The process at the moment is only in the ‘expressions of interest’ stage.
"All it is right now is an exploratory stage from the FAI, finding out what clubs are interested, and then from there they will let us know what the requirements are.”

The key detail I took from reading the article earlier. I suppose the National League as the Third Tier will be the only show in town for a few years but a tier between the First Division and National League that is more LoI ready than amateur should be high on the agenda. Connecting the National League to regional leagues then will be interesting to see how they crack that nut.

[Martinho II]

I was only in Baldonnell once but would love to see St Francis back in even if its the third tier. Probably best thing they could introduce is promotion/relegation between 2nd tier & 3rd tier as you only rest on your laurels if finances arent there.

[nigel-harps1954]

67 applications for the new third tier, with Shamrock Rovers the only LOI side who expressed an interest in a B team.

https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/fai-reviews-its-approach-to-tackling-its-40m-debt-burden/a387752908.html


Delegates were told that there have been 67 applications for the new third tier which had been originally styled as another level for the League of Ireland but will effectively function as the top level of the amateur game with no plans for professional contracts to be permitted.It’s believed there is a good regional spread of applications with the exception of parts of Connacht and Ulster; this will raise questions about how to manage the proposed geographical split into a north and south division.

Shamrock Rovers want to bring back their ‘B’ team to compete in the new initiative but other LOI sides have not expressed an interest.
It remains to be seen if their application will be successful if the league is going to be completely amateur; there are details to be worked out around how the third tier will align with the LOI but there are plans for promotion and relegation to exist between the various components of the pyramid.

[Roones26]

lack of interest in connacht ulster is a issue fir regionalisation

[Jd2793]

B teams should be included from all PD teams with conditions attached so first team players cant feature. The gap between 20s + senior is huge, scrapping 20s and having young lads play men straight out of 17s would be great for them.

Im shocked at the amount of interest from amateur sides tbh. Will grounds have to meet certain standards? Costs of running a club are big, I'd love to see the economics of it.

[pineapple stu]

If Premier clubs don't want to field a B team, I think that's their call in fairness.

67 applicants is mental stuff if true. Be interesting to see how many keep up their interest as details come out. How the third tier aligns with the rest of the LoI seems a pretty basic thing not to have worked out yet; you wonder what else is to be decided, and are the 67 clubs kind of subscribing to updates rather than formally ready to apply

[nigel-harps1954]

If they can even manage to maintain the interest of 32 clubs, a 16 team North/South split would be ideal.

[2 Year Contract]

Peake Villa from Thurles have confirmed they’ve applied

https://x.com/peakevillafc/status/1893631858455278033?s=46

[nr637]

Peake Villa from Thurles have confirmed they’ve applied

https://x.com/peakevillafc/status/1893631858455278033?s=46

Well done, hope you are accepted.

[2 Year Contract]

Well done, hope you are accepted.

Errr… despite me not being a football club in Tipperary… thanks I guess? :D

[Buckett]

52-week 2 year contracts all round!

[Acornvilla]

Errr… despite me not being a football club in Tipperary… thanks I guess? :D
Best of luck, the hopes of Tipp now weigh on your shoulders

[Buller]

Errr… despite me not being a football club in Tipperary… thanks I guess? :D

Good luck with it all. Don't let the FAI and Tipperary down

[Glen Of Aherlow]

Anyone know if there's a Mullingar club among the applicants ?

[nr637]

Errr… despite me not being a football club in Tipperary… thanks I guess? :D

Just thanking you m8 for posting the news about Peake Villa from Thurles! :)

[pineapple stu]

What about Termonbarry Alberts?!

[2 Year Contract]

Just thanking you m8 for posting the news about Peake Villa from Thurles! :)
My bad, I should’ve known “Well done, hope you are accepted.” also means “thank you” :D

[nr637]

You just have to search social media to get names of clubs Limerick City, St.Francis and Peake Villa have already been announced!

You could list out a number of progressive Junior League clubs from around the country that are interested. I reckon the FAI will not be surprised by the numbers of interest.

I think that football is moving in the right direction and the popularity has always been growing. Clubs will look at the new third tier National League as a stepping stone for future League progression for their club.

[Longfordian]

What about Termonbarry Alberts?!

They're going to be groundsharing with us. Their rent will fix the wall that was blown down.

[nigel-harps1954]

What about Termonbarry Alberts?!

Genuinely thought of this yesterday and had a good chuckle to myself.

[EatYerGreens]

Errr… despite me not being a football club in Tipperary… thanks I guess? :D

See this is the problem with clubs like you. No commitment. Unlikely to stay the distance. Pulling out already.

[EatYerGreens]

Anyone know if there's a Mullingar club among the applicants ?


If there's 67 applied, you'd have to think that every hole in the hedge acoss the country has put their name down!

[EatYerGreens]

67 is crazy. I'd say there wasn't a soul alive who thought it'd be anything like that number. There were plenty on here thought they'd struggle to even reach the 20.

Can't wait until a journalist gets their hands on the full list and we get to see all who's in there. You can be sure there'll be a few genuinely wacky ones in a long list of 67.

Interesting to hear that Peake (don't forget the second 'e') Villa have applied. Am I right in thinking that they're no longer in Dualla, and moved into Thurles town a few years back? They'll always struggle with a name like 'Peake Villa' IMO, so only a matter of time before history repeats itself and they rebrand as Thurles Town or something instead.

[Kiki Balboa]

Pretty sure St. Michaels from Tipp Town also were confirmed to have applied.

If it is 67 teams, you would guess nearly every team who you could have imagined has applied.

Be interesting to see the criteria in how they filter the clubs.

[Nesta99]

67??? Well LoI is now not just cool its sh1t hot! That sort of number gives some real scope to go beyond a 3rd tier and develop a merit based national system that could feed in to the senior game (Im avoiding using pyramid!). Not sure you'd want to have those not included in the third tier to be used to create an additional tier but the leagues that they play in could be canvassed to see if they could feed in. Is it workable that if every side didnt want to be considered for promotion that the next ranked side(s) that do could be in a play-off?

[pineapple stu]

Be interesting to see how/if that undermines the MSL/LSL in particular (given there is no CSL/USL)

If there's that much solid interest, that in itself could push those leagues towards a proper pyramid as a de facto third tier.

[yurt]

I can't seem to find the article which told us there was 67 teams who've expressed interest but didn't it say that there was a lack of clubs interested in Connaught and parts of Ulster?

I'd say the majority of teams who've applied are already playing intermediate football in cork and Dublin

[Kiki Balboa]

I can't seem to find the article which told us there was 67 teams who've expressed interest but didn't it say that there was a lack of clubs interested in Connaught and parts of Ulster?

I'd say the majority of teams who've applied are already playing intermediate football in cork and Dublin

It said there was a very decent regional spread.

Probably no Ulster means no Monaghan United or a Cavan team, and maybe only one Mayo team.

[Buckett]

This is the article

https://m.independent.ie/sport/soccer/fai-reviews-its-approach-to-tackling-its-40m-debt-burden-in-attempt-to-alleviate-short-term-financial-pressure/a387752908.html

[CraftyToePoke]

Be interesting to see how/if that undermines the MSL/LSL in particular (given there is no CSL/USL)

MSL exists yes, though its hardly representative of Munster, isn't it basically Cork based with a handful more ? Isn't it already undermined due to that ?

& with Peake & St Michaels mentioned already here as being interested, leading Munster clubs already not in the MSL ( AFAIK ) you'd imagine its prestige will drop further.

[BigEars]

MSL exists yes, though its hardly representative of Munster, isn't it basically Cork based with a handful more ? Isn't it already undermined due to that ?

& with Peake & St Michaels mentioned already here as being interested, leading Munster clubs already not in the MSL ( AFAIK ) you'd imagine its prestige will drop further.

There's no clubs in the MSL from outside Cork.
Even Tramore Athletic are not actually from Tramore in Waterford, but Cork.

There'll be plenty of interest in this from teams all over Munster.

[Kiki Balboa]

I would guess teams from Mayo might not have really applied because there might be a focus on Mayo FC, and there are not many other urban centers / established teams in the midlands part of Connacht.

Same really in Cavan and Monaghan. I could imagine though that both a Cavan Town and a Monaghan United applied.

[EalingGreen]

"Delegates were told that there have been 67 applications for the new third tier which had been originally styled as another level for the League of Ireland but will effectively function as the top level of the amateur game with no plans for professional contracts to be permitted."
https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/fai-reviews-its-approach-to-tackling-its-40m-debt-burden/a387752908.html

Interesting that they seem to be specifying that the new NL will be amateur, when considered in the context of the FAI's initial unveiling of their plans, including:


Expressions of interests wanted from clubs aspiring to join new FAI National League

Creation of an Irish football pyramid in line with the FAI Football Pathways Plan

New league will include promotion to the League of Ireland First Division


With the hurdle between levels already a high one, won't Amateur (NL) to Professional (FD) make it even higher?

Also, will that deter teams in eg LSL and MSL whom already pay players reluctant to move to the NL?

While those clubs who don't move up, but continue paying players, may be left with an advantage over amateur NL sides when it comes to recruiting players?

Also the danger of NL clubs making secret cash payments to keep their players?

I only ask this because of imminent developments in the NI pyramid. Formerly the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) was given administrative charge over the top three tiers by the IFA, those tiers being the Premiership and Championship (both Senior) and the Premier Intermediate League (Intermediate. Obviously!).

For whatever reason, NIFL decided it no longer wants to run the PIL, which will now come under the IFA again. Recently the IFA gave a presentation to interested parties about how they see the revamped PIL league developing. One Attendee, who posted on a fans' forum, was under the impression that the PIL would be Amateur, with evidence of payments being made automatically leading to relegation!

Which prompted a reply from another poster, normally In-The-Know, that there will be no such Amateur requirement, rather the reference was that it is under-the-counter (undeclared) payments which will lead to relegation.

However, subsequent attendees firmly stated that the intention is that clubs from the 3rd tier downwards will be Amateur, but (professional) clubs who get relegated from the 2nd tier will be allowed to honour existing professional contracts until they've expired.

Which seems very messy to me.

[EatYerGreens]

However, subsequent attendees firmly stated that the intention is that clubs from the 3rd tier downwards will be Amateur, but (professional) clubs who get relegated from the 2nd tier will be allowed to honour existing professional contracts until they've expired.

Which seems very messy to me.

Surely it's just a sensible approach?

The alternative is that any club with even a chance of relegation from the 2nd to 3rd tier will have to have professional player contracts with a relegation clause. Which would hamper their recruitment abilitiy. This would be particularly so for the new club(s) promoted, so would likely increase their chances of instant relegation again.

[Nesta99]

It may seem messy, but for observers of GAA it is the best paid amateur game in the world. There are also no shortage of non-league football teams that have paid players and managers over the years and even out bidding LoI clubs. The cynic in me feels that if clubs were canvassed about being given the leeway to pay players if they wish they say no, do it anyway but if they must be amateur by the rules, they avoid scrutiny and a blind eye is turned as it is for GAA.

I agree on the relegated senior club bit, in the early 2000s Dundalk could well have been relegated to a 3rd tier if it existed and to be made turn amateur well I dont know how it would have worked if the club had the resources and wanted to recruit and pay players to climb the leagues again but forced to sign amateur players that could mean staying in a division longer than planned for or resourced for.

[cobhlad]

There's no clubs in the MSL from outside Cork.
Even Tramore Athletic are not actually from Tramore in Waterford, but Cork.
.
Brideview from Waterford joined this season. Playing in the MSL junior divisions after their own West Waterford East Cork league was disbanded.