Irish League: Season set to start on time after vote passed at EGM

The PIL had been the third tier of NIFL since 2016 and is now set to be replaced by the Conference League, which will be run by NAFL.

As a result, NIFL will only control the top two leagues of Northern Irish football and has now expanded the Championship from 12 to 16 teams.

The top four teams from last season’s PIL – Moy­ola Park, Stra­bane Ath­letic, Rath­fri­land and Newry City – were promoted to the Championship.

But the 10 teams who finished between fifth and bottom of last year’s PIL- Dollingstown, Ballymacash Rangers, Portstewart, Oxford Sunnyside, Dergview, Ballyclare Comrades, Knockbreda, Coagh United, Lisburn Distillery and Banbridge Town – are all set to feature in the inaugural Conference league.

Ballymena & Provincial League champions St. James’ Swifts and Rosario, who came fifth in NAFL’s Premier Division last season, are also due to complete the new 12-team league.

But Banbridge, who finished bottom of the PIL, believed the decision to remove the side from the NIFL structures was “unlawful” and appealed to the Irish Football Association [IFA].

Banbridge argued that NIFL had not followed its own regulations by not previously securing approval from member clubs at an annual general meeting [AGM] or EGM to bring its annual regulations into operation, and their appeal was upheld by the IFA’s appeals committee.