By Jonathan Brown
THE 2026/27 amateur football season gets under way this weekend, with Valley Rangers returning to competitive action on Saturday and a host of local clubs beginning their Amateur League campaigns over the weekend or early next week.
Valley Rangers will once again compete in the Intermediate A Division of the Mid-Ulster League, with Samuel Gordon’s side aiming to build on last season’s impressive third-place finish.
They open their campaign at Bignian Park on Saturday against Crewe United.
In the Amateur League Premier Division, Dromara Village will look to improve on last season’s solid seventh-place finish when they welcome Holywood, while Drumaness Mills will be hoping for a much stronger campaign under the joint management team of Sean McQuoid and Conor Walsh, after narrowly avoiding relegation by four points in 2025/26.
They begin at home against Mossley. Kilmore Rec, now managed by former Drumaness Mills boss Mark Kerr, begin life in Division 1A following relegation from the Premier Division.
They will be targeting an immediate return to the topflight but face a difficult opening fixture away to newly promoted 18th Newtownabbey Old Boys. Amateur League stalwarts Killyleagh YC, Newcastle Town and Ballynahinch Olympic will all compete in the 14-team Division 1B this season.
Stephen Lindsay’s Killyleagh side begin their campaign at The Showgrounds against Woodvale on Saturday as they continue their bid to climb back up the Amateur League ladder.
Olympic, who finished eighth in Division 1B last season, have been boosted by the return of Border Cup-winning manager Liam Sloan, who joins Barry McGoran in the dugout.
They must wait until Tuesday evening to begin their season when they face near neighbours Killyleagh at Kilmore Playing Fields.
Newcastle Town also kick off on Tuesday, travelling to Hillsborough to face Downshire YM, who finished just two places above the Seasiders in ninth last season.
Read the full story in the current issue of the Mourne Observer.
