Larne Women have been spared potential relegation from the Sports Direct Women’s Premiership – because nobody wants to challenge them for their place among the top teams.
As part of trimming the League from nine clubs to eight, the team finishing second-bottom was to face a Play-Off with their top-flight status on the line.
The Northern Ireland Football League’s rules for the 2024 season stated: “There shall be one place available for promotion into the NIFL Women’s Premiership. The place shall be determined by means of a Play-Off between the winner of the NIWFA Championship and the team finishing second-bottom in the NIFL Women’s Premiership.”
Sunday Life Sport can reveal, however, that there will be no Play-Off and Larne, who already knew that they would finish eighth before Friday’s final round of matches as the odd number of teams meant that they have already completed their 16-match programme, have been saved.
Sion Swifts Ladies, who withdrew from the Premiership in February – just two months before the 2024 season was due to kick off – were crowned winners of the Championship at the end of August but had already allowed the 2025 Premiership application deadline of July 31 to pass and therefore don’t qualify for a shot at promotion.
One of the factors behind Sion Swifts Ladies dropping out of the top-flight was due to new licensing criteria being rigidly enforced after a dry run in 2023. The club’s home ground at the Melvin Sports Complex in Strabane didn’t meet the required standard and still doesn’t come up to scratch.
NIFL rules do allow for groundsharing agreements. Under those rules, clubs must already have played at the shared venue during the season before they enter the Women’s Premiership, so an application from Sion Swifts to return to the League would have failed anyway.
The Women’s Premiership season wraps up on Sunday when Derry City Women host Lisburn Ladies in the final game of the 2024 campaign with sixth place up for grabs. Derry are a point ahead after winning more games in the 2024 season than in the previous two combined.