Sligo Ladies set to find out opponents

PLAZA: The plaza at the ground signals a master plan which is ambitious while remaining rooted in the club’s community ethos. The plaza, should it come to fruition as outlined, offers a social point, a community hub and a number of employment opportunities.

ROOFS AND PERSPEX: From the perspective of atmosphere at games in the future, four roofed stands with protective layers from the elements has the potential to trap a thunderous amount of noise from fans, allowing it to flow onto the pitch. The Showgrounds reputation as a fortress could become even more justified.

ACADEMY: An off-site academy is a reflection on the club’s role as not just a local club – but a regional one. The club is already enticing to young players in the north-west and they have developed a number of first team stars at The Showgrounds, players who started out in the underage ranks. The appeal and potential of a dedicated academy site is unlimited.

NO STONE UNTURNED: If there was an inch of space going unused, the master plan appears to have found a way to utilise it. These days it is recognised that infrastructure is everything if the domestic game is to grow and the master plan has packed the prospect of an endearing match night experience into every area of the ground.

The Sligo Ladies Footballers will tonight, Thursday, discover their opponents in the group stage of this year’s TG4 All-Ireland Intermediate Championship.

Sligo are one of 13 counties aiming for glory in the Ladies Gaelic Football Association’s second tier adult championship. The Intermediate grade also features Clare, Down, Fermanagh, Kildare, Laois, Leitrim, Longford, Louth, Offaly, Roscommon, Westmeath and Wexford. There will be four groups – three teams in three groups and four in group one. The three seeded teams are last year’s runners-up Westmeath along with defeated semi-finalists Clare and Roscommon.

The draw for the All-Ireland Intermediate Championship, as well as the draw for the Senior competition (which has 13 teams), takes place live on the LFGA and TG4 Facebook pages from 8pm. The All-Ireland Junior Championship consists of a five-team group, with no draw needed.

LGFA president Mícheál Naughton, a native of Castleconnor in west Sligo, will conduct the draw along with TG4 Ard Stiúrhóir Alan Esslemont at Ceannáras TG4 in Baile na hAbhann, Co. Galway. Máire Ní Bhraonáin, lead anchor of TG4’s Peil na mBan coverage, will present the live event. Once the draws have been conducted, the championship fixtures will be agreed and circulated in due course, with the competitions set to commence on the weekend of July 10-11.

While Sligo failed to win any of their three group games in last year’s competition, they were All-Ireland Intermediate Championship semifinalists for four years in succession (2016-19).