The 2020 League of Ireland Premier Division, known as the SSE Airtricity League for sponsorship reasons, was the 36th season of the League of Ireland Premier Division.
The league began on 14 February 2020 and concluded on 9 November 2020. The fixtures were announced on 20 December 2019. The season was halted in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the Republic of Ireland following the directive of the Irish government and the Football Association of Ireland. The FAI subsequently announced a contingency plan with a view to completing the domestic season at a later date with a reduced number of games. It resumed on 31 July. On 24 October, Finn Harps won 2–0 at Bohemians which meant Shamrock Rovers won the league and Cork City were relegated.
Overview The Premier Division consists of 10 teams. Ordinarily each team plays each other four times for a total of 36 matches in the season. Following a meeting of the Football Association of Ireland regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided that the season would be played on an 18-match basis with teams playing each other twice: once at home and once away.
Shelbourne, the 2019 First Division champions, were promoted to the league for the first time since 2013, replacing fellow Dublin side UCD, who were relegated to the League of Ireland First Division after finishing bottom of the league in 2019.
Teams
Stadia and locations
Team Location Stadium Capacity Bohemians Dublin Dalymount Park 3,640 Cork City Cork Turners Cross 7,845 Derry City Derry Brandywell Stadium 3,700 Dundalk Dundalk Oriel Park 4,500 Finn Harps Ballybofey Finn Park 6,000 St Patrick's Athletic Dublin Richmond Park 5,340 Shamrock Rovers Dublin Tallaght Stadium 8,000 Shelbourne Dublin Tolka Park 3,700 Sligo Rovers Sligo The Showgrounds 5,500 Waterford Waterford Regional Sports Centre 5,500
Personnel and kits
Note: Flags indicate national team as has been defined under FIFA eligibility rules. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality. Team Manager Captain Kit manufacturer Shirt sponsorBohemians Keith Long Keith Buckley O'Neills Des Kelly InteriorsCork City Colin Healy Gearoid Morrissey Adidas University College CorkDerry City Declan Devine Conor McCormack Adidas Diamond CorrugatedDundalk Filippo Giovagnoli Brian Gartland Umbro FyffesFinn Harps Ollie Horgan Gareth Harkin Joma KN GroupSt Patrick's Athletic Stephen O'Donnell Ian Bermingham Umbro MIG Insurance BrokersShamrock Rovers Stephen Bradley Ronan Finn Umbro JD SportsShelbourne Ian Morris Lorcan Fitzgerald Umbro FLYEfitSligo Rovers Liam Buckley Kyle Callan-McFadden Joma AvantcardWaterford Fran Rockett Brian Murphy Umbro 24/7 Cardiac Care
Managerial changes TeamOutgoing managerManner ofdepartureDate of vacancyPosition in tableIncoming managerDate ofappointment Waterford Alan Reynolds Resigned 16 June 20206th John Sheridan 8 July 2020 Dundalk Vinny Perth Sacked 20 August 20203rd Filippo Giovagnoli 25 August 2020 Waterford John Sheridan Moved to Wigan Athletic 11 September 20204th Fran Rockett 24 September 2020 Cork City Neale Fenn Resigned 8 October 2020 10th Colin Healy 9 October 2020
League table Standings
Positions by round
The table lists the positions of teams after each week of matches. In order to preserve chronological evolvements, any postponed matches are not included in the round at which they were originally scheduled but added to the full round they were played immediately afterward.
Results Teams will play each other twice (once at home, once away).
Season statistics Top scorers
RankPlayerClubGoals1 Patrick HobanDundalk102 Jack ByrneShamrock Rovers93 Graham BurkeShamrock Rovers8 Andre WrightBohemians4 Daniel GrantBohemians7 Aaron GreeneShamrock Rovers5 Ronan CoughlanSligo Rovers6
Hat-tricks PlayerForAgainstResultDateGoals Graham BurkeShamrock RoversCork City6–05 Daniel GrantBohemiansShelbourne1–33
Play-offs First Division play-off Semi-finals
First Division play-off Final
Promotion/relegation play-off
Source:
Awards Monthly awards MonthPlayer of the MonthReferencesPlayerClubFebruary Jack ByrneShamrock RoversAugust Daniel GrantBohemiansSeptember Jack ByrneShamrock RoversOctober Sean MurrayDundalkNovember David McMillanDundalk
Annual awards Award Winner Club PFAI Player of the Year Jack Byrne Shamrock Rovers PFAI Young Player of the Year Daniel Grant Bohemians PFAI Premier Division Manager of the Year Stephen Bradley Shamrock Rovers PFAI Team of the Year Goalkeeper Alan Mannus (Shamrock Rovers) Defenders Andy Lyons (Bohemians) Roberto Lopes (Shamrock Rovers) Lee Grace (Shamrock Rovers) Tyreke Wilson (Waterford) Midfielders Keith Buckley (Bohemians) Aaron McEneff (Shamrock Rovers) Jack Byrne (Shamrock Rovers) Forwards Daniel Grant (Bohemians) Andre Wright (Bohemians) Michael Duffy (Dundalk)
See also 2020 League of Ireland First Division 2020 FAI Cup 2020 League of Ireland Cup 2020 Bohemian F.C. season 2020 Dundalk F.C. season 2020 Galway United F.C. season 2020 Shelbourne F.C. season 2020 St Patrick's Athletic F.C. season
Notes
References
External links Official website Full Results and Fixtures