Holders Cliftonville Ladies will arguably be the team to beat once again in the Irish FA Women’s Challenge Cup this year.
The reigning NIFL Women’s Premiership champions lifted the trophy last season as part of an historic treble.
Striker Caitlin McGuinness scored a treble as the ‘Invincibles’, who won the 2024 Women’s Premiership with a 100 per cent record, defeated Lisburn Rangers Ladies by five goals to nil in the cup final.
And the Reds, whose only other success in the Women’s Irish Cup came in 2015, will no doubt have more silverware in their sights when the new season gets under way.
The Women’s Challenge Cup produced some top class games in 2024 and the organisers are hoping for similar encounters this time around.
Entries for the 2025 Irish FA Women’s Challenge Cup are now live on the MyComet system - and the closing date is Monday 31 March. The entry fee is £20.
The competition is due to kick off this year with a preliminary round on Friday 2 May followed by round one on Friday 6 June. Seeded teams enter the fray (second round) on Friday 18 July – and the quarter-finals are scheduled to be staged on Friday 22 August.
Friday 19 September is the date pencilled in for the semi-finals, while the final is due to be held at the National Football Stadium at Windsor Park on the weekend beginning Friday 18 October.
First contested in 2005, the Women's Irish Cup is Northern Ireland's premier competition for women's football teams.
Glentoran Women (previously Glentoran Belfast United) are the most successful side in the competition, having won it 11 times, with Linfield Women (previously Linfield Ladies) the next most successful with three victories.
Image: Cliftonville Ladies celebrate last year’s Irish FA Women’s Challenge Cup success.
