July start for North Tipp Soccer
By Shane Brophy
The new North Tipperary & District League season will get underway at the end of the month.
A meeting of the committee of the NT&DL last week agreed to give the go ahead to the 2020 season getting underway on Tuesday 28th July.
It will be a curtailed campaign due to the league being in its third and final year of its summer soccer and by rule has to be completed by November 30th. However, they can apply to the FAI for an extension to December 13th if they require it.
There will be no pre-season shield competitions this season with clubs going straight into league action on the last Tuesday of the month.
There will be no pre-season shield competitions this season with clubs going straight into league action on the last Tuesday of the month.
There will also be no Tipperary Cup from where Sallypark Odhrans will get to defend their title as the committee have decided to go with just the divisional cup (Fogarty, Barry and Kennedy) competitions in the curtailed timeframe open to them.
It is expected there will be three divisions of eight teams each with each club playing fourteen matches, including two per week in the first month during the longer evenings. It is also expected that BT Harps, who didn’t compete last season, will make their return, as well as Portumna Town who pulled out during the campaign.
Limerick District League start for August
Nenagh AFC and Newport Town have learned their campaigns in the Limerick District Leagues will get underway on Tuesday 18th August, two months earlier than expected due to the easing of Covid-19 restrictions.
Details of fixtures and venues to be announced but at the same meeting of the Limerick District League committee also confirmed that the Premier League, after first round of games, will be split into a top six and bottom six format. A format which was initially to be implemented last season, but never got off the ground.
The LDL committee also appointed Pat Dillon as the leagues covid-19 supervisor.