UCC Soccer's National League fixtures announced

UCC Soccer will face Killarney Celtic of Kerry, Villa FC of Waterford, CK United of Kilkenny, and Newbridge Town of Kildare in the inaugural Football Association of Ireland (FAI) National League.

UCC will play each team in a home and away fixture as part of Group 3 of the league.

Last week, UCC soccer put out a call for incoming or current students of UCC to express interest in joining its National League squad.

UCC’s full fixture list for the 2026 season is as follows:

05/09/2026 - Killarney Celtic v UCC Soccer - Celtic Park, Killarney - KO 14:00

12/09/2026 - Villa FC v UCC Soccer - workLAB Connors Park, Waterford - KO 14:00

26/09/2026 - UCC Soccer v CK United - Mardyke Sports Ground, Cork - KO 14:00

03/10/2026 - Newbridge Town v UCC Soccer - Station Road, Newbridge - KO 17:00

10/10/2026 - UCC Soccer v Villa - Mardyke Sports Ground, Cork - KO 14:00

17/10/2026 - UCC Soccer v Killarney Celtic - Mardyke Sports Ground, Cork - KO 14:00

31/10/2026 - UCC Soccer v Newbridge Town - Mardyke Sports Ground, Cork - KO 14:00

The FAI National League will form the third tier of the FAI pyramid, behind the League of Ireland First Division and League of Ireland Premier Division.

A truncated first season will be played from 29 August until 31 October. Following this, the first full season - which will feature promotion to, and relegation from the League of Ireland First Division - will begin in February 2027.

It features 15 teams from Cork, Donegal, Dublin, Galway, Kerry, Kildare, Kilkenny, Mayo, and Waterford. Teams will play each other home and away across three groups, with the first place from each group advancing to the semi-finals. The fourth semi-final spot will be reserved for the best-placed group runner-up.

The winners of the semi-final ties will advance to the FAI National League final, which will be held in November.