Women's FAI Cup semi-final draw: Cork City to face Shelbourne at Turner's Cross

Cork City will face Shelbourne at Turner's Cross in the semi-finals of the Club Orange Women’s FAI Cup on Saturday August 22.

The draw took place at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown on Tuesday afternoon with City, who last appeared in the final back in 2020 and last won the competition in 2017, getting a home tie against the 2024 winners Shels.

City progressed to this stage of the competitions following their narrow victory over Douglas Hall on Sunday, with striker Yuna Go netting the winner on her debut.

Elsewhere, current holders Athlone Town will face Galway United at Athlone Town Stadium in the other Semi-Final.

The semi-finals will take place on Saturday 22 August with finalised details for the fixtures set to be announced in due course.

The winner of those two games will meet in the final at Tallaght Stadium on Sunday 27 September.

Meanwhile, Israel intend to open their Uefa Nations League fixture against Ireland in Debrecen on September 27 to supporters, raising fears of a protest by visiting fans.

The FAI in June chose to switch their home game against the Israelis on October 4 out of Ireland due to fears of an escalation on the tennis-ball protest that marred the friendly against Qatar in May.

Their game, moved to the 4,500-capacity TSC Arena in Bačka Topola in Serbia, will be played behind closed doors.

The Irish Examiner understands that Uefa were initially contacted jointly by the FAI and Israeli FA, requesting for both meetings to be held without fans.

However, no restrictions are planned by the Israeli FA for their three matches in the campaign against Ireland, Austria and Kosovo at the Nagyerdei Stadion, according to the home federation.

Since Uefa have forced Israel to host games in the neutral country of Hungary after the October 7, 2023 attacks, all are open to supporters.

The Israeli FA have confirmed to the Irish Examiner their position after initially admitting the matter was under review.

“In an internal meeting held last Wednesday in our offices: we decided that our home match against Ireland will be open for spectators,” read their statement.

It remains to be seen if the FAI offer an away allocation to their loyal supporter base that travel to away fixtures. They have been contacted for comment.

Last week, the group which organised the tennis ball protest, entitled Stop The Game campaign, outlined their determination to ensure neither game against Israel proceeds.