NIFL call EGM with members to avoid season delay

NIFL call EGM with members to avoid season delayImage source, Press EyeImage caption, Lawlor had recently stated that a vote will occur within the two NIFL tiers for a possible switch to a summer seasonByJana McCabeBBC Sport NI journalistPublished37 minutes agoAn extraordinary general meeting has been called by the Northern Ireland Football League for Tuesday to try and prevent the new Irish Premiership and Championship seasons being delayed.In the top tier, Cliftonville’s hosting of Crusaders is due to kick off the opening weekend of the 2026-27 season on Friday, while Strabane Athletic face Institute in the Championship. But the fall out from a legal challenge involving Banbridge Town and their appeal over the restructuring of the third tier of football in Northern Ireland could prevent the campaign from starting as planned. Banbridge are one of 10 clubs who will be moved from the Premier Intermediate League [PIL], which was under NIFL’s governance until last season, to the newly formed Conference League which will be run by the Northern Amateur Football League [NAFL].That decision meant that Banbridge and the other 10 clubs who were not included in the expanded 16-team Championship were no longer NIFL members, which was deemed “unlawful” by the Irish FA’s appeals committee.It is understood the Northern Ireland Football League has called an EGM with its 47 member clubs on Tuesday to try and resolve the issue. How likely is it the start of new season will be impacted?There will be a vote over summer football – Lawlor