It has been a while in waiting, but the domestic women’s season kicks off this weekend with five Irish League representatives taking to all-Ireland action.
The Avenir Sports All-Island Cup, which was introduced to the calendar in 2023 and received rave reviews among players and fans alike, begins again with the Belfast big four of Glentoran, Cliftonville, Linfield and Crusaders plus Lisburn Ladies in action throughout Saturday and Sunday.
The Glens, who dethroned Cliftonville to clinch the Sports Direct Women’s Premiership title, are hoping to save the best for last when they entertain Athlone Town at Blanchflower Park on Sunday (4:30pm). That’s after the north Belfast Reds host Shelbourne at Solitude (2pm) and Lisburn Ladies – joined by city rivals Lisburn Rangers in the top-flight – face Bohemians at the historic Dalymount Park (3pm).
On Saturday, both the Crues and Blues are on the road, with the former first to take centre stage when they tackle Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown (DLR) Waves at Whitehall Stadium (3pm) and the latter playing south Dublin-based Women’s National League champions Peamount United (5pm) immediately afterwards.
If there was a pinch of skepticism over how successful the tournament could be, particularly as this was as serious as cross-border competition has got across the island of Ireland in the women’s game, then it was undoubted by the final whistle given that the Final consisted of both a Northern Irish and Republic representative.
Galway United got the better of Cliftonville that day, with Gemma McGuinness’ 12th-minute strike sufficient to crown them inaugural All-Island Cup champions at the Sligo Showgrounds, and nostalgic memories of the old men’s Setanta Cup were harked from within by those who followed the competition’s progress.
The discussion of whether rekindling and reworking the idea would be timely in the modern men’s Irish League has intensified since, but for now, the women’s game is benefiting from the chance to test their mettle in unfamiliar surrounds.
The new league season hasn’t yet started – you’ll be waiting to Sunday, May 5 for that – but this is no low-stakes pre-season for these five.
There’s a meeting of Linfield and Lisburn in Group A, too, just as Cliftonville and Sion Swifts, who were expected to participate in 2024 before their surprise drop-down into the NIWFA Championship was confirmed, clashed in Group C last year – perhaps adding to the tension given only the group winners in the 16-team competition will advance into the knock-outs.
Galway are back and out to defend their title, and they will face the Glens in Group D, while the Crues (Group C) count Shamrock Rovers among their foes and the Reds (Group B) stare into a rematch of last year’s semi-final with Cork City, when Caitlin McGuinness proved the matchwinner.
Tall hurdles to overcome, then, but similarly, that’s the merit of the competition. It’s tough by design and, although hardly the sole factor, it’s set up to drive standards.
The signs point to the tournament succeeding in its intentions, and therefore, an engaging and pulsating rollercoaster ride is expected to follow leading up to the summer showpiece.
Featured image from NI Football League/Avenir Sports.
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