Women's Under 17 National League (Ireland)

Women's Under 17 National League
Organising bodyWomen's Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
Founded2018
CountryIreland
ConfederationUEFA
Number of clubs15
Level on pyramid1
Current championsCork City W.F.C.
Most championshipsShelbourne (1)
Galway (1) Cork City (1)
Websitewnl.fai.ie

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 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 7 April 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 a representative team from Carlow-Kilkenny to the league as well as League of Ireland teams Bray Wanderers and Shamrock Rovers. The three new clubs brought the total number of teams to fifteen.[7] The format of 2 groups before the final stage of the competition was initially maintained.[8] However, 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 instead be split into 3 groups of 5 teams. The top two teams in each group, alongside the two best third-placed teams, qualified for the quarter-finals with the competition then changing to a knock-out format.[9]

In 2021 Waterford F.C. joined the league, entering a WU17 academy side.[10]

The 2022 season saw several changes. Bray and Greystones announced a partnership, with the two clubs running one team under the Bray Wanderers name.[11][12] The Donegal League also formed a partnership with Finn Harps and the Inishowen Women's League.[13] A new club was welcomed to the league when Cobh Ramblers entered a team in partnership with Springfield Ramblers.[14][15][16]

St Patrick's Athletic and their partner club, Cherry Orchard, were accepted into the league for the start of the 2023 season.[17]

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 U17 Athlone Athlone Town Stadium
Bray Wanderers U17 Bray Carlisle Grounds
Bohemians U17 Phibsborough Oscar Traynor Centre
Carlow-Kilkenny U17 Kilkenny Derdimus Park
Cork City U17 Cork Bishopstown Stadium
Donegal League U17 Donegal Diamond Park, Ballyare
Galway U17 Galway Dangan Sports Facilities
Greystones United U17 Greystones The Woodlands
Treaty United U17 Limerick Pike Rovers Sportsground
Peamount United U17 Newcastle, County Dublin Greenogue
Shamrock Rovers U17 Tallaght Roadstone Sports Ground
Shelbourne U17 Santry AUL Complex
Sligo Rovers U17 Sligo Sligo IT
DLR Waves U17 Dún Laoghaire Marley Park
Wexford Youths U17 Crossabeg Ferrycarrig Park

Timeline

League member Former member Future member

Champions

Year Winner Runner up Result Venue Notes
2018 Shelbourne Galway 2–0 Drom Soccer Park [18]
2019 Galway Wexford 3–1 Eamonn Deacy Park [19]
2020 Cork City Shamrock Rovers 2–0 Athlone Town Stadium [20]
2021 Treaty United Peamount United 3–2 Athlone Town Stadium [21]

Under 17 National League Cup Champions

Year Winner Runner up Result Venue Notes
2019 Galway Peamount United 2-1 Eamonn Deacy Park [22]

Under 17 Player of the Year

Year Player Team Notes
2018 Emily Whelan Shelbourne [23]
2019 Kayla Brady Galway [24]

References

  1. ^ "Women's Under 17 National League launched". 11 July 2018. Archived from the original on 2018-08-02. 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. Archived from the original on 24 December 2018. Retrieved 27 December 2018.
  6. ^ "Women's Under-17 National League 2019 fixtures". 8 February 2019. Retrieved 8 February 2019.
  7. ^ "2020 WU17 League Tables & Results & Stats | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football - Extratime.com". www.extratime.com. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  8. ^ "Fixtures released for 2020 Women's Under-17 National League". 2 March 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Groups decided for 2020 U17 League". 23 July 2020. Retrieved 29 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Waterford will apply to join Women's Premier Division". RTÉ Sport. 12 June 2024. Retrieved 2 November 2025.
  11. ^ "Bray Wanderers Partnership | Greystones United A.F.C." www.guafc.ie. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  12. ^ "2022 WU17 League Tables & Results & Stats | extratime.com - The Home of Irish Football - Extratime.com". www.extratime.com. Retrieved 2025-10-28.
  13. ^ Lee, Ethan (2022-08-31). "Finn Harps Announce Women's Football Partnerships - Finn Harps FC Official Website". Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  14. ^ Duffy, Emma (2021-01-13). "Cobh Ramblers announce plans to field women's team again after lengthy absence". The 42. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  15. ^ "Cobh Ramblers return to Women's Football - Cobh Ramblers Football Club". 2021-01-13. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  16. ^ Horgan, Andrew (24 December 2021). "Cobh Ramblers celebrate centenary with entry into women's football". echo live. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  17. ^ "Saints Accepted Into U17s WNL". www.stpatsfc.com. 2 November 2022. Retrieved 2025-11-02.
  18. ^ "Shelbourne lift Women's Under 17 title". 14 October 2018. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  19. ^ "REPORT: Galway WFC U17 3-1 Wexford Youths U17". 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
  20. ^ Horgan, Andrew (23 December 2020). "Olivia Gibson and Laura Shine lead Cork girls to maiden league success". Irish Examiner. Retrieved 13 March 2021.
  21. ^ "Listen - Treaty United crowned U17 Women's National League Champions". Live 95. 13 November 2021. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Galway capture U17 Só Hotels Women's National League Cup". 29 September 2019. Retrieved 1 October 2019.
  23. ^ "2018 Continental Tyres Women's National League Awards". FAI Women’s National League. 9 November 2018. Archived from the original on 21 November 2021. Retrieved 22 December 2018.
  24. ^ "Jarrett wins Só Hotels WNL Player of the Year". FAI Women’s National League. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Women%27s_Under_17_National_League_(Ireland)