The 'A' Championship has arrived

This weekend sees the beginning of the inaugural eircom League of Ireland A Championship. Sixteen clubs will compete in the eircom League of Ireland A Championship, with a prize fund of €20,000 and the possibility of winning promotion to the First Division.

The league has been broken into two groups, with the winners of each group qualifying for the final match to decide the A Championship winner.

Three brand new clubs to the eircom League will be competing in the league, Mervue United, Salthill Devon and Tullamore Town will compete alongside twelve Premier division teams and Limerick 37. (see Galway clubs set for A adventure.).

Should one of the three new clubs finish in the top four positions in the A Championship, they will qualify for a play-off against the club to finish bottom of the First Division. The winner of this play-off will compete in the 2009 eircom League of Ireland First Division.

This opens-up the possibility of relegation from the First Division for the first time.

Clubs with teams already playing in the Premier Division or First Division will not be eligible for promotion from the A Championship.

Fran Gavin, Director of the eircom League of Ireland, said that the inaugural A Championship represented an important milestone for the League: "The A Championship was designed to help both player and club pathway into the eircom League of Ireland. It is the first time the League has had a third tier and it will act as a gateway to clubs and players with ambitions of playing in the eircom League of Ireland.

"For clubs already in the eircom League of Ireland, the A Championship represents an opportunity to blood younger players and help those returning from injury to get back to match fitness. We have seen how strong the teams fielded in the Shield competition have been and that has really given a taste of what is to come.

"For clubs not previously involved in the eircom League of Ireland, the A Championship is a pathway into the League and gives them a taste of what to expect should they gain promotion.

"The fact that the winners of the A Championship will collect a cheque for €20,000 is further evidence of the FAI's commitment towards this new tier of Irish football."

Extratime will strive to bring you reports and line-ups from numerous A Championship games as well as chatting to the people involved in the league. Watch this space.