The inaugural season consisted of 11 teams and began mid-late July 2018 with a truncated season with two groups. Competing in Group One were: Athlone Town, Donegal League, Peamount United, Shelbourne, Sligo Rovers and Galway Women's and competing in Group Two were: Cork City, Greystones, Limerick, UCD Waves, and Wexford Youths. [2] Following the conclusion of the 10 rounds of fixtures, the top two teams from each group played in play-off mode the semi-finals and final to decide the winner. [3] [4]
In December 2018, the Women's National League Committee has accepted an expression of interest to compete in the 2019 Under-17 Women's National League season from Bohemian FC. With the addition of Bohemians, the League now consists of 12 teams, with six teams competing in two groups before the final stage of the competition. [5] [6] The 2019 season began on the weekend ending Sunday 7 April and there has also been a WU17 League Cup introduced along with a Shield competition in the finals stage of the competition.
The 2020 season saw the introduction of a representative team from Carlow-Kilkenny to the league as well as League of Ireland teams Bray Wanderers and Shamrock Rovers. The three new clubs brought the total number of teams to fifteen. [7] The format of 2 groups before the final stage of the competition was initially maintained. [8] However, the start of the season fell victim to the lockdown measurements introduced by the government to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. A new format and start date were published on 23 July 2020 after the phased reopening of the country. The league would instead be split into 3 groups of 5 teams. The top two teams in each group, alongside the two best third-placed teams, qualified for the quarter-finals with the competition then changing to a knock-out format. [9]
In 2021 Waterford F.C. joined the league, entering a WU17 academy side. [10]
The 2022 season saw several changes. Bray and Greystones announced a partnership, with the two clubs running one team under the Bray Wanderers name. [11] [12] The Donegal League also formed a partnership with Finn Harps and the Inishowen Women's League. [13] A new club was welcomed to the league when Cobh Ramblers entered a team in partnership with Springfield Ramblers. [14] [15] [16]
St Patrick's Athletic and their partner club, Cherry Orchard, were accepted into the league for the start of the 2023 season. [17]
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