Dublin derbies will determine Premier League title for 2022

LEAGUE of Ireland fans in Dublin have plenty of derby days to look forward to in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division, which kicks off tonight.

The 2022 league line-up includes five clubs from the capital following the promotion of UCD and Shelbourne from the First Division and fans will be chomping at the bit to see their club get one over on local rivals.

With so many games taking place between the Dublin clubs, local derbies will play a huge role in determining the outcome of this season’s Premier Division.

Manager Stephen Bradley and Ronan Finn of Shamrock Rovers with the SSE Airtricity League Premier Division trophy. Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

Tim Clancy and Paddy Barrett of St Patrick’s Athletic at the launch of the SSE Airtricity Premier & First Division and Women’s National League 2022 season held at HBV Studios in Clarehall, Dublin. Photo: Harry Murphy/Sportsfile

The first round of fixtures has thrown up two Dublin derbies, with Shamrock Rovers taking on Southside rivals UCD in Tallaght and First Division champions Shelbourne hosting cup winners St Pat’s at Tolka Park in the league’s first televised fixture.

The game will be broadcast on RTÉ2, with kick-off at 7.45pm.

Bohemians will be the only Dublin club playing outside the capital this weekend, with the cup finalists making a trip to The Showgrounds in Sligo tomorrow.

Premier Division champions Shamrock Rovers will be live on RTÉ next week when they travel to the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium to take on Derry City.

Both the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League and the EA SPORTS National Underage League get underway on the week ending on Sunday, March 5.

Dublin has four teams competing in the 10-team Women’s National League with the Southside represented by Peamount United and DLR Waves and Shelbourne and Bohemians flying the Northside flag.

Speaking at the launch of the 2022 season recently, League of Ireland Director Mark Scanlon, said fans were eager for the campaign to get underway.

“We’re delighted to officially launch the 2022 season with plenty of action to look forward to across the three divisions,” he said.

“We’ve seen an incredible amount of excitement across the country ahead of the season with incredible season ticket sales in the SSE Airtricity Premier & First Division.”

Fans who can’t make it to live games will be pleased with the news that LOITV will continue its coverage of all three divisions with the SSE Airtricity Premier Division set to receive an enhanced two-camera set-up.

However, with no crowd restrictions at stadiums this year, there’s no season passes available and fans will have to pay €7 to watch individual matches.

Women’s National League fixtures will be free to watch for fans registered on the site. TG4 will continue their support of the women’s league with nine live matches in the 2022 season.

The FAI Women’s Cup Final will be broadcast live on RTE and the national broadcaster will screen 15 Premier Division fixtures live as well three Extra.ie FAI Cup matches.

David Manning, Director of Customer Marketing SSE Airtricity, said the league sponsors were looking forward to the season ahead.

“Last year we extended our sponsorship to the women’s league for the first time – acknowledging the commitment and determination within both the men’s and women’s game – and it couldn’t have been a better season,” he added.

“For the 2022 season we look forward to celebrating even more success, including the promotion of UCD and Shelbourne FC to the SSE Airtricity Premier Division.

“At SSE Airtricity, we are Ireland’s largest provider of green energy, and the leagues create an opportunity for us to work with the clubs and the fans to support their sustainability efforts.

“In doing so, this year we’ll also be celebrating everything that makes our league different – the closeness to our national league between player, supporter, club and community, that few other leagues can rival.

“We’re looking forward to another great season and wish the players, clubs and supporters the very best of luck for 2022.”