Newcomers Mayo F.C. have application accepted to join League of Ireland

Mayo F.C. have officially joined the national leagues after their application to join the underage structures was accepted by the FAI and National Leagues Committee.

The statement published by the League of Ireland discloses that Mayo F.C. will enter initially Men’s under 14 and under 15 while also entering the Women’s under-17 for the 2024 season.

Mayo FC has been formed in the last number of months by representatives of Mayo Football League who have worked towards submitting an application to the League of Ireland for entry into these competitions.

The Mayo Schoolboys League had participated in the National Underage Leagues between 2017 and 2022 at MU14 and MU15 level and the establishment of the new club sees a return to this level as well as entry to WU17 football for the first time”

Reports began to emerge last week that representatives from the Mayo Football League had established a new football club to enter the League of Ireland. The report outlines that a five-year plan has been agreed with the FAI which will eventually see an adult team compete in SSE Airtricity Leagues for the first time.

Previously, the Mayo Schoolboys League had entered the National Underage leagues but had pulled out from the competition in 2022.

This is a huge boost for football in the region as players from the county would have had to travel to Sligo or Galway to play for a League of Ireland club.

There was further news today with the announcement of Kerry F.C. will enter a team in the Women’s Under-17 League of Ireland academy in 2024.

This is a major step for football in the Kingdom after only entering the Men’s National League this year. There will now be a pathway for women alongside the men to get the opportunity to play in the national leagues.

Both applications were approved by National Leagues Committee (NLC) earlier this month. This will mean that 22 clubs will compete at MU14 and and 23 will play at MU15 level next season while 20 Clubs are set to line-up in the WU17 competitions.

The statement by the league concluded, “The Football Association of Ireland and the League of Ireland look forward to working with both clubs and all stakeholders on the continued development of football in their regions”.