On Thursday night, the structure for the 2012 Airtricity League season was agreed by the National League Executive Committee at the Annual Clubs’ Convention.
The Premier Division returns to a 12-team league for the first time since 2008, and will commence on Friday 2 March.
It will be the first time that Dundalk have competed in a 12-team division since 2004.
The league will be played in three series, with a total of 33 fixtures.
The bottom-placed club will automatically be relegated to the First Division, while the 11th-placed club will take part in a two-leg Promotion/Relegation Playoff.
In the First Division, the winners will be automatically promoted to the top flight.
The second-placed club will play the third-placed club in a playoff, with the winners of that playing the 11th-placed club from the Premier Division in the two-leg Promotion/Relegation Playoff, for the final place in the 2013 top tier.
The dates for the midseason break will not be decided until after the UEFA EURO 2012 finals draw, which takes place in Kyiv on 2 December, with the break to coincide generally with the Republic of Ireland’s summer campaign.
The 2012 league season will end on the weekend ending Sunday 28 October.
