Laois pair begin Combined Counties Football League season this weekend

Clonaslee United and Mountmellick United will fly the Laois flag when the Combined Counties Football League gets underway this weekend.

Clonaslee are first into action when they take on Willow Park in the inaugural Combined Counties Charity Cup at Stanley O'Hara Park in Clara on Friday evening at 7.30pm.

The novel fixture sees the reigning CCFL Senior Division champions face the winners of the Combined Counties Cup, with Clonaslee earning their place after their memorable victory over Mullingar Athletic in last June's final in Tullamore. The game will also serve as a charity fundraiser, with the winning team nominating a cause to benefit from the proceeds.

Clonaslee will be hoping to carry the momentum from their cup triumph into the new season as they look to improve on their league position. They were competitive throughout last year's Senior Division campaign but were often on the wrong end of close results. They will be hoping the experience gained from that campaign, coupled with their impressive cup run, can help them move up the table this time around.

Mountmellick United begin their Senior Division campaign on Sunday morning when they welcome St Peter's to Conor Davis Park for an 11am kick-off. Mountmellick finished in mid-table last season and will be looking for greater consistency this time around as they aim to climb the standings.

They are not expected to be involved in a relegation battle, but will need to put together a strong run of results if they are to challenge towards the top end of the table. A good cup run could also be on the cards.

There are 11 teams competing in the CCFL Senior Division this season, with the league expected to be highly competitive.

Ballymahon are the first Longford club to compete in the Senior Division after securing promotion from Division 1, while Killavilla United return to the top tier after winning Division 1 last season.

St Peter's will be among the favourites after finishing runners-up last season, while defending champions Willow Park will be looking to retain their title.

Clara Town, Coolraine, Monksland United, Mullingar Athletic and Temple Villa complete the line-up alongside the two Laois clubs.

Coolraine were one of the surprise packages last season, finishing third in their first campaign at Senior Division level, while Mullingar Athletic will be hoping for a major improvement after finishing bottom last year despite reaching the finals of both the Paddy Cotter Cup and Combined Counties Cup.

Combined Counties Cup Fixtures Week 1

Friday September 4

Combined Counties Charity Cup

Clonaslee Utd v Willow Park; 7.30, Stanley O'Hara Park Clara.

Sunday September 6

Senior Division

Coolraine v Monksland Utd; 11.00; Durrow Tullamore

Mountmellick Utd v St Peter's; 11.00; Conor Davis Park Mountmellick

Killavilla Utd v Ballymahon; 2.00; Villa Park Roscrea

The remaining CCFL divisions will get underway in two weeks, with more than 130 teams entered across the league this season. There has also been significant growth in the women's and youth sections, with 24 women's teams set to compete.