Athlone Town FC to take part in new cross-border Academy initiative

Athlone Town is one of eight clubs from the League of Ireland Academy which will be taking part in a new cross-border initiative with clubs in Northern Ireland.

The arrangement, which was announced on Wednesday, is designed to give academy players an opportunity to play against teams from either side of the border.

Eight clubs each from the EA SPORTS LOI Academy and the Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Academy will come together to participate in two development days in Dublin and Belfast.

The first event, which is for players born in 2008 and 2009, will take place in Dublin this Sunday, August 17, with the return day scheduled for Belfast on Sunday, August 31.

The development days will take place at FAI HQ in Abbotstown, Dublin and Queens University, Belfast.

The League of Ireland clubs that will participate are: Athlone Town, Bohemians, Galway United, Treaty United, Shelbourne, St Patrick’s Athletic, UCD and Waterford.

The NIFL teams competing will be: Cliftonville, Coleraine, Dungannon Swifts, Glenavon, Glentoran, Larne, Linfield and Portadown.

Will Clarke, League of Ireland Academy Programme Development Manager, said: "We're very excited to launch this new initiative which has been developed in close collaboration with our colleagues in NIFL over the past number of months.

"The events will provide great opportunities for the best players from either side of the border to play against each other in two excellent environments for the first time.

"I'd like to thank everyone in NIFL and all the clubs from both Leagues for their support in what will be a fantastic display of the best talents on the island of Ireland."