Sligo Rovers face Drogheda United on Saturday evening in the SSE Airtricity Premier Division in The Showgrounds, as supporters return to the venue again.

The Bit O’ Red go into the game on top of the table with Drogheda sitting in fourth.

In team news, David Cawley and Danny Kane have returned to training. Gary Buckley is doubtful with a muscle strain. Darren Collins and Jason Devaney are out with ankle and hamstring complaints while Romeo Parkes will serve a one-game ban.

“The break is what it is. We’re back to it now and we’re looking forward to being back out on the pitch for what is going to be a difficult game.

“We’re a prime example of how competitive the league is and that every game is an opportunity to pick up points. You have to work for every point you get in this league and if you don’t you’re going to be beaten. We’re very pleased with our total so far.

“That said, we’re far from getting ahead of ourselves. We know there are just 14 matches played in a 36-game season and there isn’t a great deal of points from first all the way down to eighth. There’s a long way to go and we just have to keep working hard and building on the momentum we have.

“Drogheda have have a great campaign so far and it’s not a surprise when you look at the experienced players like Dane Massey, Gary Deegan and a lot of quality players in a good squad. We know it’s a hard game and we have to be ready for it.

“We did particularly well to come away with the three points in Ballybofey having been down a man for a lot of the second half. We showed good character.

“Danny Kane is back and available this week which is great. We’re delighted to have him training every day.  

“Dave Cawley is also back training after missing some games prior to the break. We’ll check on Garry Buckley on a muscle strain while Darren and Jason will miss out this week.”

100 fans will return to The Showgrounds after being successful in a ballot of season pack holders.

Buckley added: “It’s great. We’re thrilled for the people who will be there with us and I’m sure we’ll hear them and they’ll be getting behind us.

“In time we hope to see more and more. As a club we’ve followed the Covid-regulations in the strictest detail and one of the many reasons for doing that is to get to a point where fans can be back in the stadium.

“As we know this is a fan-owned club. They make it possible for us to be representing Sligo Rovers and the people of the area and we really want to see and hear as many as we can as the restrictions ease.”

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce a new partner for our Ladies Under 19 team.

Sweet Beat Cafe will become official partners and appear on the back of the girl’s playing shirts for the season ahead.

Sweet Beat Cafe is an award winning family run planet-first café and shop featuring inventive and creative plant-based dishes and offering 3FE coffee. Sweet Beat also offers and eco retail collection at their base overlooking The Garavogue River on Wine Street in Sligo Town.

Company founder and Creative Director Carolanne Rushe expressed her delight today:

“We are thrilled to be able to sponsor the girls this coming season. For us, it’s important to help out locally and being local business, it feels like the right choice to support the team in their first season in the league. Ladies football and sport in general is vitally important and there is a clear plan in place at The Showgrounds which is one of the reasons we wanted to get involved.

Sligo Rovers Ladies Committee expressed their thanks to Sweet Beat:

‘We are really grateful to Sweet Beat for their support. Their logo looks great on our shirts and we hope they will be able to come up and watch the girls play in the coming months. Sweet Beat were very supportive to the Sligo Community during the COVID lockdowns by providing food deliveries to those in need and this shows their support to the community again’’.

You can visit the Sweet Beat on Wine Street in Sligo Town. They open 7 days a week. Check out their website at sweetbeat.ie or find them on social media @sweetbeatsligo

LOITV passes are now available to purchase ahead of the season restart.

The Premier Division will join the SSE Airtricity First Division and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League on LOITV.ie, with all three divisions on one streaming platform.

Match pack season ticket holders should click here to learn how to redeem their streaming pass.

Supporters who didn’t buy a match pack season ticket can now purchase their Premier Division Pass which covers all matches from now until the end of the season, for just €79. With 110 matches left in the 2021 season, that works out at just €0.79 per match.

The platform will aid Rovers financially with Season Pass sales set to go to the subscribers’ selected team whilst pay-per-view revenue will go to the home side of the individual fixture, a valuable revenue stream for the League of Ireland.

The Premier Division matches will be broadcast via the clubs’ own production solutions including replays and multiple camera set-ups. Rovers have hired Studio Rove, a local company, and will provide these features along with a commentary team. More features will be added over time.

Head over to LOITV.ie now and get your season pass or learn more below

Moving from WATCHLOI to LOITV

• Rovers supporters who have match pack s can use five tickets to redeem a pass. Click here for more info
• Former WATCHLOI customers are encouraged to subscribe to loitv.ie to get access to all the remaining Premier Division fixtures this season for just €79

Sligo Rovers will enter the first round draw for the UEFA Europa Conference League next Tuesday.

With the Bit O’ Red set to make a first appearance in Europe since 2014, we look at the details ahead of the draw.

When is the draw?

The draw is scheduled for Tuesday 15 June at 12pm on UEFA.com. You will be able to stream it live.

When are the games?

The first round is two legs. The games are scheduled for 8 and 15 July. The home fixture will likely be early evening. The draw will determine whether the home game is on 8 or 15 July.

Can I stream the games?

Yes. We will stream the home game which will be outside of the LOI TV platform. We will announce this in detail shortly. For the away game, we will update fans closer to the date as the opposition will determine such a facility.

Can I attend the home game?

We are still awaiting news on the UEFA policy for this season.  If possible we will allow a small number of fans to attend under current guidelines in Ireland. They must purchase in advance.

Who can we face?

UEFA will shortly confirm the seedings.

The Bit O’ Red will be unseeded, meaning our possible opposition can come from these countries based on current standings.

When will it be narrowed down?

It’s expected that in the 24 hours before the draw the teams will be grouped into five teams. There will be seven groups of five teams, seeded and unseeded

Numbers are allocated to each team and the draw itself will be see one number chosen from seeded and one unseeded.

One pairing creates seven ties at once from the seven groups.

Will the draw be regionalised?

The groups of five often consist of some sort of regionalisation but due to the complex make-up of clubs in each draw, no such thing is guaranteed.

Does the second round draw take place the same day?

No, it is done 24 hours later. The first-round pairing involving Rovers will be in the draw and again it will be streamed on UEFA.com.

We are delighted to announce a new partner for our Ladies Under 19 team.

Oh Hello Clothing will become official partners and appear on the back of the girl’s playing shirts and front of shorts this season.

Established in 2015, Oh Hello Clothing is a Sligo based, family run Irish business dedicated to bringing their customers unique, girly, gorgeous pieces and providing them with the best possible customer experience.

Based in Collooney, Oh Hello Clothing proudly ship globally from Sligo through dedicated shipping partners.

With over 15 years experience in fashion and retail, you can trust that Oh Hello Clothing will look after you with their speedy shipping times and friendly customer service.

Founders and owners Kimberley & Graham Lee are lifelong Rovers fans and are absolutely delighted to be part of the sponsorship team for the Under 19 Ladies squad in their inaugural season in the Women’s National Under 19 League.

“We are delighted to be in a position to sponsor the Bit O’ Red Ladies. Being a local business, life long supporters of the club and looking after all things ladies – it feels like a natural choice. We wish the girls the very best of luck for the coming season”

Sligo Rovers Ladies Committee:

‘’We really appreciated the Lee’s in their support of the girls for this coming season. It’s really great to see a local, family run business achieve so much in a relatively short few years. They have a massive following online and we hope that we can help them here with this partnership throughout the season. It’s a big help to the girls and we are really grateful’’.

You can visit the company’s website at ohhelloclothing.com or find them on social media @ohhelloclothing

Our 2021 Academy coaching staff have been confirmed as all our academy teams return to pre season action this week.

Our Under 19 men’s team will be managed by Declan Boyle who has taken over the reigns from Brian Dorrian. Garry Buckley will be part of the sides coaching staff. We’d also like to welcome two new members to our coaching staff. Mick Duffy and Barry Mullen join the club for the first time.

Ryan Casey continues to manage our Under 17 boy’s side. Casey will be assisted by Packie Lynch for their third season in a row. Lewis Banks and Ultan McKenna will make up the coaching team at that age level.

Our Under 15 side will be managed by Paul Masterson and Marcel Gordon. The pair have been working together alongside Conor O’ Grady for the last number of seasons and now continue to manage the team alongside the influential Greg Bolger.

Alan Farry manages the Under 14 side (previously Under 13) for his third season alongside Kieran Brick. Youngsters Niall Morahan and Mark Byrne are also part of the backroom team for 2021.

Our Ladies’ teams have also had some changes this season.

Darragh Healy takes charge of the new Under 19 team alongside Scott Lynch. Darragh previously managed the club’s Under 17 Ladies team in 2019.

Aaron O’ Connor from Boyle comes into the club as manager of our Under 17 Ladies team, taking over from Danny O’ Leary. O’ Connor has a wealth of experience in the game. Irish international Emma Hansberry joins the club in a coaching role alongside Stacey Muldowney. Both girls have plenty of experience in Ladies football.

The club have also appointed a Head of Goalkeeping for the 2021 season. Brian Morahan will oversee the goalkeepers of all academy teams. Brian has been working in the Under 19 backroom team for a number of years and this new role will be a vital one for our club net minders.

Head of Strength & Conditioning for the 2021 season is Ross Chrystal. Ross is overseeing the players’ training programmes and is an important member of the club’s staff.

Chris Jenkins will become the Academy’s video analyst and work alongside the club’s coaching staff in tracking team performance on the pitch.

Declan Brennan and Ciara Mulrooney will oversee the men’s and ladies’ physiotherapy from their base at The Showgrounds.

Sligo Rovers are delighted to announce a new front of shirt sponsor for our Ladies Under 19 team in our first season competing in the Women’s National League.

Overstock Ireland is based in Sligo and is the European Technology Headquarters for Overstock.com, a technology driven online retailer. The company is based in a state of the art campus at Finisklin Business Park, where they recently invested €1 million in a move there.

‘’At Overstock Ireland we are always looking for ways to advocate for our local community of Sligo, and get ahead of the ball to support efforts promoting women in underrepresented sectors. We are delighted to announce our sponsorship of the Sligo Rovers Ladies Under 19 team.

As part of Sligo Rovers’ long term plan for the women’s game they have expanded their academy for The 2021 season by adding an Under 19 team alongside their Under 17 team which will enter their fourth season in the Women’s National League. The team is made up of players from all over the North West region and we are patiently waiting as restrictions ease to get out and support the ladies on their campaign this year, and really look forward to seeing our logo on the Bit O’ Red shirt’’.

Sligo Rovers Ladies Under 19 manager Darragh Healy expressed his thanks to Overstock.

‘Overstock have been great supporters of the club in recent years with various sponsorships including match sponsorships and a pitch-side sign. They create jobs for the North West region and with our academy providing a pathway for boys and girls from The North West Region, it’s a nice match. We are very grateful to Overstock and look forward to working with them in the coming months’’.  

The Under 19 ladies team are currently preparing for our inaugural season in the Women’s National League alongside our Under 17’s under the guidance of Darragh Healy and Aaron O’ Connor.

Irish International player Emma Hansberry has been added to the coaching staff for the season ahead, who’s experience at the top level of the women’s game will no doubt help guide the players through their time at the club.

Pre-Season friendlies can begin in June with the season expected to begin a few weeks later.

You can visit the Overstock’s website at www.overstock.com.

Sligo Rovers wish to confirm that 100 supporters will be permitted to attend our SSE Airtricity Premier Division match with Drogheda United next weekend. 

The match takes place on Saturday 12th June at 7.45pm.

The Showgrounds can host 100 fans for games in June under the new Covid-19 guidelines. As the stadum has a capacity of less than 5,000, no more than 100 can attend. 

Match Pack holders will be included in an open draw. Match packs are on sale ahead of the return of supporters to The Showgrounds. Click here to buy.

All match pack holders will be automatically entered into the draw per game. Those 100 will then drop out of the ballot for our next game until all ticket holders attend a match. 

Supporters will be contacted by this weekend if they have been successful and will be asked to confirm their attendance and fill in a Covid-19 declaration form before attending.

Should the planned Covid-19 re-opening continue, 200 fans can attend games later in the summer and up to 1,000 from August. 

As such, only match pack holders will be considered for European fixtures and all games in the summer period. 

We encourage supporters to buy match packs in order to be eligible to attend games. 

Meanwhile, local company Studio Rove have been hired for our match night production on the LOITV streaming service. 

Professional commentators will be hired by the club also. Supporters can purchase a streaming pass for €79 or by using five passes in their match packs. 

To redeem please follow the instructions below:

• Take five tickets from your match pack book.
• Post them to: Secretary, Sligo Rovers FC, The Showgrounds, Sligo. (before Wednesday June 9th – streaming passes will only be redeemed once tickets have been received)
• Include a note with the tickets with your name and e-mail address (e-mail address is important as your streaming code will be emailed to you)
• We advise you to please send these in without delay as the season restarts on Friday June 11^th and Rovers’ first game is due to be Saturday June 12^th.
• Once we receive the five tickets, we will send an email with instructions on how to access the streaming service.
• For any enquiries, please email colinfeehily@sligorovers.com or call071-9171212

Non match pack holders can purchase a pass on the new platform directly.

LOITV passes are now available to purchase ahead of the season restart.

The Premier Division will join the SSE Airtricity First Division and the SSE Airtricity Women’s National League on LOITV.ie, with all three divisions on one streaming platform.

Match pack season ticket holders should click here to learn how to redeem their streaming pass.

Supporters who didn’t buy a match pack season ticket can now purchase their Premier Division Pass which covers all matches from now until the end of the season, for just €79. With 110 matches left in the 2021 season, that works out at just €0.79 per match.

The platform will aid Rovers financially with Season Pass sales set to go to the subscribers’ selected team whilst pay-per-view revenue will go to the home side of the individual fixture, a valuable revenue stream for the League of Ireland.

The Premier Division matches will be broadcast via the clubs’ own production solutions including replays and multiple camera set-ups. Rovers have hired Studio Rove, a local company, and will provide these features along with a commentary team. More features will be added over time.

Head over to LOITV.ie now and get your season pass or learn more below

Moving from WATCHLOI to LOITV

• Rovers supporters who have match pack s can use five tickets to redeem a pass. Click here for more info
• Former WATCHLOI customers are encouraged to subscribe to loitv.ie to get access to all the remaining Premier Division fixtures this season for just €79