When they launched the Mayo FC jersey, green and red of course, in Castlebar’s TF Royal Hotel a fortnight ago, the mood was nothing short of exultant, as it has been in the county for the past month. League of Ireland football is on the horizon for the first time in this part of the west, but much of the talk was still about Ryan O’Donoghue’s shimmy and Darragh Beirne’s finish.As should be expected. They had waited long enough to talk about such a day. The bunting and flags may never come down but there exists an opportunity for Mayo FC to harness all that giddiness as they begin their own journey, hosting St Francis in their opening national league game next Saturday.After all, many of the players who climbed the Hogan Stand steps last month were accomplished junior or juvenile soccer players. O’Donoghue, the beating heart of the team, was an Ireland underage international whose parents had to drive him an hour and half to train with the Sligo Rovers academy a few times a week. Mayo All-Ireland champion Ryan O’Donoghue in action for Ireland U16 soccer side back in 2016‘You’ve heard Ryan O’Donoghue speak even in the past few weeks about the sacrifices his parents made, driving him to Sligo from Belmullet when he was in Rovers academy. That shouldn’t be the case,’ says Mark Duffy, the Fine Gael senator who was a driving force behind the Mayo FC project and was once a decent goalkeeper for Ballina Town.‘Now, we have a chance to keep all these talented young players in Mayo and work with them here. In the past, if players such as Ryan wanted to progress, they had to go outside the county.’Even though there has never been a Mayo presence in the League of Ireland, the county has had its own part in the story of Irish football.The Ridge Pool in the River Moy was Jack Charlton’s favourite fishing spot in Ireland – he even bought a nearby holiday home in Ballina. Kevin Kilbane speaks proudly of his deep links to Achill Island while in 2008 on a visit to Castlebar Celtic and Westport United, Giovanni Trapattoni paid a visit to Croagh Patrick.While there is a flourishing junior soccer scene – they were the first county to successfully adopt a summer season – football fans have had to go to the Showgrounds or down to Galway to find a senior team to support. Talented youngsters from Mayo tended to always gravitate towards the Sligo Rovers academy. The Mayo FC jersey in the county’s green and red colours at the FAI National League launch‘That can change now. We can build a club that the people of Mayo can identify with,’ says Anthony O’Neill, who is the club’s first senior manager. ‘I suppose most people get to join an existing club but one of the things about starting from scratch is we can create our identity and be who we want to be.’O’Neill is a Galway man who spent two seasons working under John Caulfield with the first team at Galway United before spending a season in charge of Westport United. But he feels that there’s a unique opportunity to tap into the essence of Mayo with this team.‘Like what Kerry FC have done, and I think Meath FC are doing the same, there’s the chance here to create a team that represents the whole of Mayo. And the market is there for a club like this. When the League of Ireland was starting a third division, it felt like a county like Mayo needed a presence in it, because it is a big county and there are a lot of talented young footballers here, some who might have fallen through the net in the past.’While the underage structure has been running for three years, the club had to start a whole new senior team from scratch, which does have its own difficulties. Local players, such as Noe Baba and James McGrath, a striker who played for Ballinamallard in Irish League last season, were two key signings.‘We wanted to bring in as many local players as possible, just to have that identity,’ says club chairman Joe Faughnan. Local star Noe Baba in action for Finn Harps, he is a huge signing for Mayo FC this season‘To have Noe back is brilliant because from a very young age, he was considered the hottest property in Mayo soccer, everyone in the county knew about him.‘He went for trials at Manchester United, ended up at Fulham and then had this career that saw him play in Germany, come home and play for Finn Harps and Athlone, but it is great now that he can come back to Mayo and play out his career for us.’And Faughnan says that the establishment of the academy, with the two full-time roles created by the government scheme run in conjunction with the FAI, means that if there are more raw talents like Baba, they can be nurtured in Mayo.‘We have the structure now to develop our own players, which hasn’t happened in Mayo before, and that’s a big thing,’ Faughnan says. ‘That’s why the investment in these academies is so important.’One downside of a strong junior league is that some clubs are still involved in competition – Castlebar Celtic are still in the FAI Junior Cup and fighting it out with Westport for the title – so not every club have provided players for the new team. Noe Baba was considered one of the most exciting underage soccer talents to come out of Mayo, here he receives the Ireland U16 player of the award from Keith Andrews in 2013But they have until September 23 to build a squad – and there is also the prospect of getting loan players from Sligo Rovers and Galway United.One of the positive elements of the newly-formed third tier is that it means younger players out of League of Ireland academies can be loaned to these new clubs to get a taste of senior football. The FAI are still finalising the rules over those sort of loan deals but expect them to become more prevalent.And that’s one of the reasons why the new National League can succeed where other incarnations, primarily the ‘A’ Championship, have failed in the past. Irish football has had to rethink how it develops talent in light of Brexit. We may see more talented teenagers get their first taste of senior football in the third tier.The inaugural season of the National League is truncated, but O’Neill feels that this is a good thing as it will allow each club to find its feet in a new environment.‘We have four home games and four away games in the structure, and we will have also played four friendlies, since coming together in July,’ O’Neill says. ‘And that feels about right for a team to find its feet and slowly build into a new structure like this.‘So, we can have 12 games this year and that will tell us a lot about the team and what else we need.’ Gary Armstrong, seen here in action with Longford Town, is another vital signing by Mayo FCApart from Baba and McGrath, O’Neill has also recruited another former League of Ireland player Gary Armstrong, who also came through the Sligo Rovers academy, as well as Seán McAteer, who also came from Ballinamallard.In all, he was working with a squad of 21 for training last week – 17 senior players and four who came up from the club’s under-20s.‘That’s probably enough in the squad, especially for a shortened season like this one,’ O’Neill said. ‘And that’s how we want to work it, to be bringing players up from our academy and feeding them into the senior squad. If the club are doing that, then it will be a success.’Faughnan and a few other club officials visited Kerry FC last year, as the last League of Ireland club to start from scratch and who also had to work alongside a strong junior scene. ‘Kerry have been very successful, but one of the things they told us is that it will probably take five years to get up to a competitive level. We are three years now with our underage teams, so we are getting there,’ says Faughnan, who is from Knockmore.‘We have some very strong groups under age, some of our girls and boys teams, and then there are a couple of groups that are struggling. Kevin Kitterick of Mayo SL challenges Brandon Cassidy of Carlow JDL in the U15 SFAI National Plate final back in 2020, underage football has always been strong in the county‘But that is all part of forming a new club like this. We have to remember the goal, which is to have a team competing at a high level of competitive football in Mayo.’As politics consumed more of his time, Senator Duffy had to call an end to his playing days although a goalkeeping crisis in Ballina Town saw him drafted back in nets for a game against Westport United during the summer, which they won 3-1. Mayo FC manager Anthony O’Neill believes the county will get behind his team in a big way‘I probably made my comeback and had my retirement match in the same game,’ Duffy says with a chuckle. ‘We won the game, but with my final save, right at full-time, I fell awkwardly and managed to dislocate my shoulder and collarbone, so that told me that it was time to hang up the gloves.’But Duffy insists that what he, and every Mayo person, has felt for the past month shows the merit in the Mayo FC project. And he feels that they can harness the feelgood factor generated by Andy Moran’s team.‘Every Mayo person across the world knows all about the unifying effect of sport after the All- Ireland final. That showed how sport can bring everyone together, so hopefully, this club can build on that and create something that Mayo people will want to get behind. That’s what we want to do.’The links between the two teams are already apparent. The club share the same sponsor as the county team and some of the All-Ireland winners are expected to be in Milebrush Park next Saturday. And as well as red and green, the colour of Mayo FC’s away jersey just so happens to be white, just like the ones that broke the curse. FAI National LeagueGroup 1Bonagee United: The Letterkenny side came second in Donegal Junior league last year and is managed by former Finn Harps stalwart Michael Funston.Cockhill Celtic: FAI Junior Cup winners in 2024, the Buncrana-based side is managed by former Finn Harps goalkeeper Gavin Cullen.Home Farm: The Whitehall club has leaned on its famous past, with Richard Dunne and Ronnie Whelan publicising their return to league. Former Sligo Rovers star Gavin Peers is in charge.Lucan United: Won the Leinster Senior League as recently as 2024 and have former Drogheda United boss Darius Kierans taking charge for the National League.Mervue United: Founder member of A Championship (previous incarnation of third tier), they were in First Division for four seasons from 2008. Brendan O’Connor is manager.Group 2Letterkenny Rovers: With history dating back to 1936, Rovers won Donegal league and cup double last season. Have former inter-county goalkeeper Mark Anthony McGinley and ex-Harps striker BJ Banda in squad.Mayo FC: One of the newest clubs, Mayo FC began at underage level in 2023 and have recruited local talent, such Noe Baba and James McGrath.Salthill Devon: Had brief spell in First Division in early 2010s, finishing bottom three years in a row. Former Ireland international Greg Cunningham is manager.St Francis: Will be remembered as only non-league team to reach FAI Cup final in 1990, when Bray Wanderers beat them. Previous stint in First Division ended in 2002 amid talk of a merger with St Pat’s.TU Dublin: One of two third-level sides in the National League, the team will be managed by Paul Barry and will play their home games at TU Dublin sportsground.Group 3CK United: Combining Carlow & District Juvenile League and Kilkenny District League, they are managed by Tom O’Connor and will play at Buckley Park, old home of Kilkenny City.Killarney Celtic: Founded in 1976, they won the Kerry District League Premier title last year for seventh season in a row. Brian Spillane announced as manager in June.Newbridge Town: Invited into the league in 2002, but demurred to hastily-founded Kildare County, run in parallel with them. Will play at Station Road, where County played until dropping out of league in 2010.UCC: Powerhouse in third-level football, with 14 Collingwood Cups, UCC will play at the iconic Mardyke venue.Villa: Founded in 1953, Waterford club is one of the oldest in third tier. FAI Junior Cup winners in 2022, the club produced current Irish international Jayson Molumby.