Athlone Town women to make league debut next month

Athlone Town's Paula Doran (second from right) pictured above along with other players at the launch of the Women's National League earlier this year.

Athlone Town will finally get to make their debut in the Women's National League, following confirmation that the 2020 season will start on the second weekend in August.

The tenth season of the Women's National League was originally scheduled to start in March, but the Covid-19 pandemic put that on hold and clubs have been waiting patiently ever since.

Now, the focus can switch to preparing for a safe return to play and the Football Association of Ireland will aid that by making a financial package available to each of the nine clubs.

The nine clubs are Athlone Town, Bohemian FC, Cork City, DLR Waves, Galway WFC, Peamount United, Shelbourne, Treaty United and Wexford Youths.

Athlone Town, Bohemians and Treaty United are first time participants at adult level.

In order to help clubs, affiliation fees have waived, a participation grant will be provided, prize money will be spread out equally; and there will be funds available to ensure all clubs can upgrade their grounds to follow safety protocols.

The FAI will also supply a special Covid-19 Assistance Grant to help each of the clubs who will have suffered financial losses due to the pandemic disrupting the original start to the season. There will also be additional support given to teams in the Under-17 League.

Myles Kelly, Women's National League Committee Chairperson, referred to a meeting held on July 2, and stated that this meeting outlined a significant financial package to aid the clubs for a new start date in early August for the 2020 Women’s National League.

"The Women’s National League Committee would like to thank the clubs for their forbearance through this difficult time and also the FAI for the financial package which allows the League to be completed in 2020," he said.

The first series of games kicks off on the second weekend of August and that will signal the beginning of Phase One, where every team will face off against each other. There will then be a split for Phase Two, where clubs will be separated into two sections and playing each other again.

Peamount United, who lifted the title last season, will represent the league in the UEFA Women's Champions League and their qualifying round is due to be played in early October.

A fixture list and a start date for the U-17 League had yet to be confirmed at the time of writing.