101 teams to line up as new WCSSL season looms

A NEW SuperValu West Cork Schoolboys and Schoolgirls League (WCSSL) season will involve 101 teams across seven age-grades.

Fifteen clubs will compete in league, cup and shield competitions beginning in early April and continuing throughout the summer and winter months.

This year’s U10 and U11 development age-grades will involve all 15 clubs including Bandon AFC’s welcome involvement. U10 and U11 matches will be played amid a friendly and non-competitive environment. A round-robin blitz format with a retreat line and where no scores or scorers will be recorded will guarantee players involved plenty of game-time.

Encouragingly, 2023’s SuperValu WCSSL U12 Schoolgirls League has had to be split into Premier and Championship leagues. Following on from Kilgoban Celtic’s dominant 2022 league campaign plus Sullane’s National Schoolgirls Cup heroics, six Premier and six Championship clubs will play home and away for league honours. Schoolgirls’ cup and shield tournaments will also be completed and involve Kilgoban Celtic, Drinagh Rangers, Sullane, Castlelack, Clonakilty AFC, Riverside Athletic, Skibbereen, Beara United, Dunmanway Town and Lyre Rovers. 

Clonakilty AFC, Castlelack, Kilgoban Celtic, Drinagh Rangers and Sullane will contest this year’s U14 Schoolgirls Premier League, cup and shields. 

Each of the upcoming schoolboys’ U15 and U16 age-grade Premier Leagues will begin with round-robin group formats. The winners and runners-up in each group will progress to U15 and U16 semi-finals and finals to decide 2023’s Premier League champions. 

Group 1 of the U15 Premier will be contested by Ardfield, Beara United, Clonakilty AFC, Kilgoban Celtic and Skibbereen. Group 2 will contain Bunratty United, Castlelack, Dunmanway Town and Kilmichael Rovers. U15 cup and shield competitions will also take place.

This year’s U16 Premier group stage will include Ardfield, Castlelack, Skibbereen and Sullane (Group 1) and Clonakilty AFC, Drinagh Rangers, Kilmichael Rovers and Togher Celtic (Group 2). Similar to the U15 grade, SuperValu U16 Schoolboys cup and shield knockout competitions will give competing clubs an additional chance at silverware. 

As ever, the West Cork schoolboys’ U12, U13 and U14 age-grades will provide plenty of drama and excitement over the 2023 campaign. Inter Clonakilty won last season’s U12 Schoolboys’ Premier League and Sullane picked up the U12 Schoolboys’ Championship title. Seventeen clubs will battle it out (eight in the Premier and nine in the Championship) for this year’s trophies and also hope to emulate Skibbereen’s SuperValu U12 Cup success. 

Thirteen clubs have entered this season’s U13 Premier (seven clubs) and Championship leagues (six clubs) for 2023. Teams will play one another home and away. U13 cup and shield tournaments will also be held. Last season, Lyre Rovers claimed the U13 Premier League and Cup, Ardfield won the U13 Championship and Drinagh Rangers lifted the U13 Shield. 

A similar format and number of clubs are entered in this year’s U14 schoolboys’ age-grade. Skibbereen Eagles were Premier League champions in 2022 with Beara United claiming the U14 Championship and Kilmichael Rovers the SuperValu U14 Cup.

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The West Cork Academy U14 Schoolboys have been drawn in a tough 2023 SFAI Kennedy Cup group ahead of this summer’s tournament. 

Last year’s Kennedy Cup runners-up, Waterford will test the West Cork Academy’s resolve in the opening group of the 2023 annual competition. Along with Waterford, West Cork will also go toe-to-toe with a highly-regarded Limerick District team and the North Eastern Counties (NECSL) in the opening round-robin group stages. The West Cork Academy will enter the knockout phase of the tournament – cup, shield, bowl or plate – depending on their group placing.