Relegation rules mean TWO teams will face Women’s Premiership drop

While there had been doubt over whether relegation would be in place after Sion Swifts Ladies’ withdrawal from the League saw numbers suddenly decrease from 10 teams to nine just as the fixture list was being drawn up in February, two sides could now drop out of the top flight at the end of this campaign.

Under the rules agreed before the League kicked off last weekend, the team finishing bottom will be automatically demoted.

Those rules state that ‘There shall be one place available for promotion into the NIFL Women’s Premiership’ and the second-bottom team will then face a Play-Off against the winners of the NIWFA Championship for the final place in what will then be an eight-team League in 2025.

The Premiership was expanded from six clubs in 2021 to 10 within two years and it was thought that the League would then continue with that format long term. However, the demise of Sion Swifts, who dropped into the Championship, has led to a rethink.

Seven teams had competed in the League in 2019 before Comber Rec Ladies were relegated. There was no promotion or relegation during the Covid-19 affected 2020 season and it was 2022 before Lisburn Ladies and Mild Ulster Ladies were introduced to the top flight.

Ballymena United Women and Larne Women were promoted 12 months later and Sion Swifts’ withdrawal came too late to save Ballymena due to new licencing criteria, with clubs having already gone through a number of stages of the process by February.