FOLLOWING THURSDAY night’s Annual Clubs’ Convention, the FAI’s National League executive committee confirmed yesterday the structure for the 2012 Airtricity League season, which will begin on Friday, March 2nd.

The Premier Division will consist of 12 clubs, and not 14 or 16 as previously mooted – each club playing three rounds of matches (33 fixtures in all).

Proposals to split the division into a top and bottom six were rejected, meaning clubs will play each other either once at home and twice away, or vice-versa.

The bottom club will be automatically relegated, the club in 11th going in to a two-leg promotion/relegation play-off against the winners of a play-off between the second and third-placed teams in the First Division.