Under-17 League to start August 2015.

**nigel-harps1954** · 05/09/2014, 2:32 PM

http://www.punditarena.com/football/...al-u17-league/

FAI Under-17 league starting in a years time, running in parallel with the under-19 league presumably. Great step forward by the FAI it has to be said.

**David BOHie** · 05/09/2014, 4:43 PM

Fantastic! It has to happen down even more though! Hopefully competitive football like this will breed results! I think there has to be a reserve league though or at the least an U21s with 3 over aged players like there was going way back. A player who is 19,20 but not good enough for first team football at that age can still develop in to a world class footballer. Saying that though this is a massive step forward!

**nigel-harps1954** · 05/09/2014, 5:07 PM

Originally Posted by David BOHie

Fantastic! It has to happen down even more though! Hopefully competitive football like this will breed results! I think there has to be a reserve league though or at the least an U21s with 3 over aged players like there was going way back. A player who is 19,20 but not good enough for first team football at that age can still develop in to a world class footballer. Saying that though this is a massive step forward!

We had that in the A league, but the Premier Clubs didn't like it.

**David BOHie** · 05/09/2014, 5:12 PM

Originally Posted by nigel-harps1954

We had that in the A league, but the Premier Clubs didn't like it.

Very true! But the point still stands about player development. Did Rover's B team cost 80k this year? 80k is a lot of money to run a B team for instance. I think a fwe teams have expressed interest in joining next year however

**TheBoss** · 05/09/2014, 5:14 PM

I remember hearing on LMFM a good few weeks back about a team from Meath, called Royal Meath FC expressing an interest to applying to this league and maybe in the future actually having a League of Ireland side.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 05/09/2014, 6:56 PM

Are those the "Meath soccer club" guys from a while back? Thought it might have been a ****take.

**nigel-harps1954** · 05/09/2014, 7:01 PM

I think it's a bunch of young fellas with wild ideas about running a LOI club.

**outspoken** · 05/09/2014, 8:31 PM

No I think that was Meath united this royal Meath seem the real deal judging by their twitter anyway.

**NeverFeltBetter** · 05/09/2014, 8:35 PM

This tweet seems pertinent: https://twitter.com/RoyalMeathFC1/st...83647727300609

**outspoken** · 05/09/2014, 9:42 PM

Meath has never really been a county I earmarked for a LOI club, with so many dublin clubs close by but then again if they ever did become a LOI club it would give them a good chance of signing a lot of dublin based players, the more clubs in other counties the better

**NeverFeltBetter** · 05/09/2014, 10:00 PM

I dunno, they'd be in a similar position as Kildare County right? Can't see it being sustainable unless they try and go all Cobh Ramblers in terms of budget (and that is a self-defeating approach). Even an U-17 league would require some significant travelling expenses.

**TheBoss** · 06/09/2014, 5:05 AM

Originally Posted by TheBoss

I remember hearing on LMFM a good few weeks back about a team from Meath, called Royal Meath FC expressing an interest to applying to this league and maybe in the future actually having a League of Ireland side.

Here is that radio interview from LMFM:

http://utv.vo.llnwd.net/o16/LMFM/201...alMeathpod.mp3