Sporting Fingal cease trading

Following on from the cancelling of their players’ contracts on Wednesday, Sporting Fingal confirmed the inevitable this evening when the club ceased trading and pulled out of the Airtricity League.

Having been heavily backed financially by developer Gerry Gannon, who is now in NAMA, up until the end of last season, the club failed to secure a new backer while a sponsorship deal fell through last week.

“Finding a replacement for our supportive backer was always going to be a major challenge but we were pleased with the progress made,” a club statement said.

“Sadly, the suddenness and timing of last week’s sponsorship set-back sent us back to the drawing board, a predicament we were simply unable to overcome so close to the season kick-off.”

What club replaces Sporting Fingal in the 2011 Premier Division cannot be decided until the Independent Licensing Committee meets on Sunday.

Provided they receive Premier Division licenses, relegated Drogheda United are likely to have first refusal with Monaghan United, beaten in the play-off last year, next in line.

It has already been confirmed that UCD will take Sporting's place in the Setanta Sports Cup while St. Patrick's Athletic are likely to be offered their UEFA Europa League spot.