Women's Under 17 National League (Ireland)

The Women's Under 17 National League is the under-17 division of the Women's National League and the first under-age national league in women's football. The league competition is currently sponsored by Só Hotel Group and as a result, it is also known as the Só Hotel Group Women's Under 17 National League.

Women's Under 17 National League (Ireland)
Organising bodyWomen's Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
Founded2018
CountryRepublic of Ireland
ConfederationUEFA
Number of teams15
Level on pyramid1
Current championsGalway
Most championshipsShelbourne (1)
Galway (1)
Websitewnl.fai.ie

The league was launched in 2018 with 11 clubs. Republic of Ireland internationals, Heather Payne and Isibeal Atkinson, Tom Dennigan, Continental Tyres General Sales Manager and FAI Director of Competitions Fran Gavin helped launch the league in July 2018 at the FAI National Training Centre.[1]

Format

The inaugural season consisted of 11 teams and began mid-late July 2018 with a truncated season with two groups. Competing in Group One were: Athlone Town, Donegal League, Peamount United, Shelbourne, Sligo Rovers and Galway Women's and competing in Group Two were: Cork City, Greystones, Limerick, UCD Waves, and Wexford Youths.[2] Following the conclusion of the 10 rounds of fixtures, the top two teams from each group played in play-off mode the semi-finals and final to decide the winner.[3] [4]

In December 2018, the Women's National League Committee has accepted an expression of interest to compete in the 2019 Under-17 Women's National League season from Bohemian FC. With the addition of Bohemians, the League now consists of 12 teams, with six teams competing in two groups before the final stage of the competition.[5][6] The 2019 season began on the weekend ending Sunday, April 7 and there has also been a WU17 League Cup introduced along with a Shield competition in the finals stage of the competition.

The 2020 season saw the introduction of Bray Wanderers, Carlow-Kilkenny, and Shamrock Rovers to the Women's U17 League which now consists of 15 teams. The format of 2 groups before the final stage of the competition was initially maintained.[7]The start of the season fell victim to the lockdown measurements introduced by the government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. A new format and start date were published on 23 July 2020 after the phased reopening of the country. The league would now be split into 3 groups of 5 teams each and the top two teams in each group and the two best third-placed teams will qualify for the quarter-finals with the competition then changing to a knock-out format.[8]

Teams
Locations of Women's U17 National League Teams
Locations of Women's U17 National League Teams in Dublin
Team Home town/suburb Stadium
Athlone Town U17AthloneAthlone Town Stadium
Bray Wanderers U17BrayCarlisle Grounds
Bohemians U17PhibsboroughOscar Traynor Centre
Carlow-Kilkenny U17KilkennyDerdimus Park
Cork City U17CorkBishopstown Stadium
Donegal League U17DonegalDiamond Park, Ballyare
Galway U17GalwayDangan Sports Facilities
Greystones United U17GreystonesThe Woodlands
Treaty United U17LimerickHogan Park
Peamount United U17Newcastle, South DublinGreenogue
Shamrock Rovers U17TallaghtRoadstone Sports Ground
Shelbourne U17SantryAUL Complex
Sligo Rovers U17Sligo Sligo IT
DLR Waves U17Dún LaoghaireMarley Park
Wexford Youths U17CrossabegFerrycarrig Park

Timeline

League member Former member Future member

Under 17 National League Champions
Year Winner Runner Up Result Venue Notes
2018 Shelbourne Galway 2–0 Drom Soccer Park [9]
2019 Galway Wexford 3–1 Eamonn Deacy Park [10]

Under 17 National League Cup Champions
Year Winner Runner Up Result Venue Notes
2019 Galway Peamount United 2-1 Eamonn Deacy Park [11]

Under 17 Player of the Year
Year Player Team Notes
2018 Emily Whelan Shelbourne [12]
2019 Kayla Brady Galway [13]

References
  1. "Women's Under 17 National League launched". 11 July 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  2. "Teams confirmed for Continental Tyres Women's U17 League". 20 February 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  3. "Continental Tyres Women's U17 League 2018 Season - Group 1". Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  4. "Continental Tyres Women's U17 League 2018 Season - Group 2". Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  5. "Bohemian FC to join Under-17 Women's National League". 4 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  6. "Women's Under-17 National League 2019 fixtures". 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  7. "Fixtures released for 2020 Women's Under-17 National League". 2 March 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  8. "Groups decided for 2020 U17 League". 23 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. "Shelbourne lift Women's Under 17 title". 14 October 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  10. "REPORT: Galway WFC U17 3-1 Wexford Youths U17". 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  11. "Galway capture U17 Só Hotels Women's National League Cup". 29 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  12. "2018 Continental Tyres Women's National League Awards". FAI Women’s National League. 9 November 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  13. "Jarrett wins Só Hotels WNL Player of the Year". FAI Women’s National League. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
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