The League of Ireland season is set for a March start in 2021.
It’s anticipated the Premier Division will now start shortly after St Patrick’s Day, with 19 March the earliest possible date. The SSE Airtricity First Division is slated to commence a week later on 26 March.
The news comes after discussions between the FAI and the National League Executive Committee.
These change in dates, due largely to the ongoing Covid-19 situation in Ireland, put the league start over a month behind last year’s shortened campaign.
Under the FAI’s Covid-19 guidelines, men’s and women’s senior/elite games will be able to proceed should we continue into Level 5 restrictions in March, though it is unlikely that crowds will be allowed near games until at least the summer.
Pre-season training was due to commence for clubs from this week, though at that the training will have to be kept to individual training regimes for the foreseeable.
With 18 games played in the season last year, Shamrock Rovers were crowned Premier Division champions, unbeaten across the broken campaign.
