A new Amateur inter-provincial tournament to decide the 2024/25 UEFA Regions Cup representatives will be held at a Connacht venue in March.
The tournament will set the provincial representative teams, Leinster, Munster, Ulster and Connacht, against each other in a round-robin tournament to be played over three days, with Connacht set to host the first tournament this year in March.
The winner of the tournament will then represent Ireland in the UEFA Regions Cup with Ireland set to face the representative teams of Northern Ireland, Switzerland and the winner of a preliminary group which includes Georgia, Azerbaijan and Sweden. These group stage fixtures are scheduled for October with the host of the group stage set to be confirmed at a later date.Furthermore, with the creation of the new tournament, it is also confirmed that the Ireland Amateur international team will continue to represent Ireland on the international stage with a commitment to provide future matches for the team."We're delighted to confirm the creation of this new inter-provincial tournament which should provide a great opportunity to highlight the talent that exists in the Amateur game," said FAI President Paul Cooke."With the winner of the tournament set to represent Ireland on the international stage, this creates a real competition between the representative teams to win the tournament and continue our representation at the UEFA Regions Cup, a tournament we've always represented ourselves well in."We will continue to operate an Amateur international team which will be made up of the best players across the country in the Amateur game but then also, Amateur players can now represent their region on the international stage, doubling the amount of opportunities for players which is a real positive for the game in the country."We look forward to the first edition of the competition in Connacht in March ahead of the UEFA Regions Cup group stages in October."
