League of Ireland expansion planned for Meath

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Plans for a new League of Ireland club based in county Meath are believed to be in the works with an announcement expected in early 2024.

In an extratime.com exclusive Athboy Celtic chairman Bernard O’Byrne spoke about his plans to bring League of Ireland football to the county having first mooted the idea for his club in mid-2022.

“Since my interview in July 2022, I have engaged with various people in Meath football and our ambition has changed to establishing a League of Ireland presence for Meath rather than just Athboy,” said O’Byrne.

“We have been working hard in the intervening period and are planning for a full launch in early 2024, hopefully in January when we will outline our five to ten-year plan.”

The new Meath expansion club would take its place on a growing list with Kerry FC joining the League of Ireland in 2023 and Mayo FC set to field a men’s team as early as 2026.

To that list so too can the likes of CK United and Klub Kildare be added who both currently partake in the underage leagues and have eventual plans to field men’s senior teams also.

The name, location, and facilities to be used by the new Meath club are as of yet unknown but it can be anticipated with the official announcement in the new year.

Athboy however will almost certainly not be in the running with Navan the most likely of bases.

“The FAI have a comprehensive list of requirements around facilities, coaching, and financial sustainability,” said O’Byrne. “We will fulfil those requirements and indeed exceed them.”

“In terms of where the club will be based, we have several options,” he said. “Most likely it will be a site adjacent to the good road infrastructure around Navan.”



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