FAI amateur cup competitions switch to summer season

Following last week's announcement that the FAI would allow leagues to exempt themelves from the aligned football calendar, the association have confirmed that their major amateur and youth cup competitions would be switching to a calendar year season.

The FAI Intermediate Cup, the FAI Youth Cup and the FAI Junior Cup are among those competition switching from a winter season to an aligned calendar season, bringing them into line with the League of Ireland.

""Aligning our major cup competitions is a strategic priority that will deliver benefits for everyone involved in the game," said FAI Grassroots Director Ger McDermott in the statement.

"It helps us to create a more coherent and predictable schedule for players, coaches, volunteers and administrators, while also improving the pathway and connection between amateur football and our League of Ireland.

"We understand this is a significant change, and we thank our clubs and leagues for their cooperation as we navigate this transitional period together."

This comes in the wake of last week's significant climbdown, with FAI President Paul Cooke confirming to delegates that leagues would be allowed to exempt themelves from the Aligned Football Calendar and retain a winter league schedule.

This was a major change to the Football Pathways Plan, which was unanimously endorsed by the FAI Board and which was narrowly passed by the FAI's General Assembly, with 57% of the delegates voting for the proposal.

It nonetheless generated heated debate, with the schoolboys/schoolgirls FAI and the Leinster FA being in the vanguard of the opposition.

The Carlow and District Football League were among those who insisted they would be conforming to the Aligned Calendar, with league secretary Brian O'Reilly, in an interview on the RTÉ Soccer podcast, citing the strain on volunteers and the impact on those who play both soccer and GAA.

In his letter to delegates last week, Cooke insisted that ""The Football Pathways Plan continues to be implemented as part of the on-going development and future of Irish football whilst also respecting the implementation challenges that leagues may encounter in relation to the Aligned Football Calendar."

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