THE ‘Battle of the Champions’ will launch the Ladies Gaelic Football Association’s LIVE coverage of the 2020 Lidl National Football Leagues.
The LGFA is pleased to confirm, in association with competition sponsors and the LGFA’s official retail partner Lidl Ireland, a schedule of Facebook LIVE fixtures from the 2020 campaign, beginning with the clash between 2019 TG4 All-Ireland Senior Champions Dublin and Intermediate winners Tipperary.
A game from each of the seven regulation rounds of fixtures will be broadcast LIVE on Facebook, and it has also been confirmed that the Lidl All-Ireland Post Primary Schools Senior A Final, which is pencilled in for the weekend of March 28/29, will also be available to viewers LIVE on Facebook, following a hugely successful airing in 2019.
Coverage gets underway next Sunday, January 26, when the Sky Blues pit their wits against the visiting Premier County, who have regained Senior Championship status for 2020.
The LIVE broadcast will also feature a special video report from the previous evening, when defending Lidl National League Division 1 Champions Cork will have the opportunity to play a competitive fixture at Páirc Uí Chaoimh for the very first time.
The Leesiders, who are aiming for a 13th Lidl NFL Division 1 title this year, open the defence of their crown against visitors Westmeath at 4pm, as part of a double-header with the Cork and Offaly men’s teams.
Meanwhile, Dublin star Carla Rowe, Galway’s Nicola Ward, Caoimhe McGrath from Waterford and Donegal’s Emer Gallagher were present at Tuesday’s 2020 Lidl National Football League launch at Lidl Ireland Head Office in Tallaght, Dublin.
The four players are on board as ambassadors for Lidl One Good Club™, which brings Lidl’s charity partner, Jigsaw, and the LGFA together to promote positive mental health in LGFA clubs across the country.
Lidl One Good Club™ will provide the opportunity for local communities to engage with key messages in the promotion of mental health, and to enable community members to support the young people in their localities.
The Lidl One Good Club™ initiative is now being rolled out nationwide following a hugely successful pilot, and it builds on existing LGFA programmes such as #SeriousSupport for schools, which sees ten LGFA athlete mentors visiting secondary schools all over Ireland, teaching girls about resilience and the benefits of playing team sports, and Ladies Football in particular.
Speaking on behalf of Lidl Ireland, Managing Director, JP Scally commented: “We are proud to launch Lidl One Good Club™ in association with the LGFA and Jigsaw, the National Centre for Youth Mental Health.
“The new programme will ensure that mental health and wellbeing is top of the agenda across Ireland’s LGFA clubs, equipping clubs with the tools that they need to effectively promote and support the mental health needs of their members.
“We will continue to work closely with the LGFA throughout 2020 to ensure that participants at every level of the game are reaping the benefits of the sponsorship, through programmes like One Good Club™ or other initiatives like #SeriousSupport, which has proved extremely successful in engaging girls in sport across the country.”
Ladies Gaelic Football Association President Marie Hickey said: “This season marks the fifth year of our hugely successful partnership with Lidl, who are also the Ladies Gaelic Football Association’s official retail partner.
“A new decade brings with it new and exciting opportunities, and I look forward to even more #SeriousSupport from Lidl, with innovative programmes at grassroots level helping to ensure that participants at every level of our sport reap the benefit of Lidl’s support.
“We are hugely excited by seeing even more of the action each weekend from the Lidl National Leagues via our Facebook Page, and the Lidl PPS Senior A Finalists will also get the coverage that their talents deserve.
“Today also marks the launch of ‘One Good Club’, an extremely important initiative that has the potential to deliver a powerful impact.”
The 2020 Lidl National Leagues get underway next weekend, with a full round of fixtures across all four divisions.
Cork will create history with that home fixture against Westmeath at Páirc Uí Chaoimh on Saturday, before top-flight focus switches to Sunday’s three fixtures.
As well as the eagerly anticipated Dublin v Tipperary clash, 2019 Lidl NFL Division 1 and TG4 All-Ireland Senior Championship runners-up Galway entertain newly-promoted Waterford in Division 1, with 2019 All-Ireland semi-finalists Mayo at home to Ulster champions Donegal.
Saturday 25th January 2020
Lidl Ladies NFL - Division 1 - Round 1
Cork v Westmeath, 4.00pm, Pairc Uí Chaoimh
Sunday 26th January 2020
Lidl Ladies NFL - Division 1 - Round 1
Dublin v Tipperary, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Galway v Waterford, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Mayo v Donegal, 2.30pm, Swinford Amenity Park
Lidl Ladies NFL - Division 2 - Round 1
Cavan v Kerry, 12.00pm, Denn Gas, Crosskeys
Clare v Armagh, 12.00pm, Shannon McNamara Park, Doonbeg
Meath v Tyrone, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Wexford v Monaghan, 2.00pm, St Patrick’s Park, Enniscorthy.
Lidl Ladies NFL - Division 3 - Round 1
Fermanagh v Kildare, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Laois v Wicklow, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Longford v Down, 12.00pm, Glennon Brothers Pearse Park
Roscommon v Sligo, 2.00pm, Abbey Park, Boyle
Lidl Ladies NFL - Division 4 - Round 1
Antrim v Offaly, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Carlow v Limerick, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
Derry v Leitrim, 2.00pm, Venue TBC
