Kerry Football Club is delighted to announce the arrival of Valerii Dolia from Athlone Town for the 2024 SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division campaign.
The 25 year old Ukrainian makes the switch from the midlands to the South West for the upcoming season having originally signed for the league’s oldest club back in July 2022. Dolia went on to be a prolific forward player for Athlone Town and made 46 appearances across the season and a half he has spent in the league. As a winger, Dolia netted some 11 goals and got 4 assists for the Midlander’s. Previous to his spell in Athlone, Dolia played in his home country of Ukraine in the ‘Druga Liga’, the country’s second tier, most recently with SK Tavriya. Dolia faced Kerry on 4 occasions last season and scored 3 goals against the Kingdom in the sides 2 wins against the newcomers. He was on the scoresheet but on the losing side in Kerry’s sole victory in the campaign last May.
Dolia is sure to bolster the kingdom’s attacking flair in 2024, adding to the likes of Ryan Kelliher, Kennedy Amechi and Daniel Okwute who were all key players in the clubs first season in the League of Ireland.
Speaking to kerryfc.com following his arrival in the kingdom, Valerii Dolia said “I am very happy to join Kerry Football Club. This is a great team with very good staff. I hope I will be able to help the team from the very start and I’ll make every effort to win. I’m very excited to meet my team mates and get to work before the start of the season.”
Also speaking to kerryfc.com after Valerii’s signing, First Team Head Coach Conor McCarthy said “We’re delighted to sign Valerii for the 2024 campaign. Valerii had a brilliant season last season with Athlone and his numbers were excellent so we’re really excited to have him on board. I’m sure it’s one the fans will really like and hopefully he can get them on the edge of their seat in Mounthawk Park very soon.”
