The future of Irish football

The League of Ireland has reached an all time low, ranking 43^rd out of 53 European countries in the latest UEFA coefficient rankings. Albania, Kazakhstan, Latvia, and Iceland are now deemed to have a stronger football foundation than Ireland. The national side took a beating too, plummeting to 59^th in the latest FIFA world rankings, their worst ever placing. In the past decade Irish domestic football has enjoyed, and endured, many similarities with Irish society. Both found their long-running poor fortunes spike in the early 2000’s. However, both have had to endure serious downturns as a result in recent years.

Shelbourne football club are the best example of the madness which spread through Irish football in that era as they went from within twenty minutes of Champions League qualification to potential expulsion from the league, homelessness, and financial life support in little over 30 months. On Wednesday the 11^th of August 2004, a capacity crowd of 24,000 people passed through the turnstiles of Lansdowne Road to watch Shelbourne enjoy their most famous night as they held Spanish giants, Deportivo La Coruna, to a scoreless draw. The following Thursday, Shelbourne entertained Derry City in a crucial FAI cup match in Tolka Park which a crowd of just over 800 viewed the 1-1 draw. Irish fans don’t have an affiliation to sport; they have an affiliation to success. 

In 2011, Shamrock Rovers became the first Irish side to qualify for the Europa League. They played against established European sides such as Rubin Kazan, PAOK, and Tottenham Hotspur. Sell out crowds of 7,000 came to watch their historic Europa League encounters yet the average attendance for that season was under 4,000 people. The grim reality is that Irish domestic football is on its knees and a drastic change is needed for the revival of this essential facet of Irish football.

In the past seven years, there has been financial strife plaguing the League of Ireland. Dublin  City, Sporting Fingal, Monaghan United, and Galway United have all ceased to exist. At the end of the 2008 season, Cobh Ramblers faced expulsion from the league as they failed to meet the financial criteria required to gain a licence to play domestic football in Ireland. Cork City and Derry City both succumbed to financial pressure and had to create a new club for their respective cities. This is the seventh time Cork have had to regroup after attaching different names – Bohemians, City, United, Athletic, Hibernians, Celtic, and FORAS – to the Munster club throughout their tenure in the League of Ireland. Shelbourne, Drogheda United, and Waterford United all came within days of dissolving due to debts amounting to millions of euros. 

The majority of fans who support the national side do not give domestic football a chance due to the pandemic of Sky’s coverage of the Premier League. However, they must realise that under FIFA ruling, if a country has no domestic league than they are not permitted to compete in any international tournaments. It’s obvious the league needs an immediate overhaul in order to attract the casual football fan. Despite this, some positives can be taken from the league as players such as David Forde, Seamus Coleman, James McClean, Wes Hoolahan, Conor Sammon, and Paddy Madden are all ex-League of Ireland players who travelled across the water to apply their trade in England, and are now fully capped international stars.

The FAI has attempted to improve underage football in Ireland with the appointment of Ruud Dokter as high performance coach. However, this will only see young Irish talent improve, if all goes to plan, but still make the trip to England to seek a football career. As long as credibility can only be earned by emigrating, football in Ireland will remain in its current state. In order for the League of Ireland to be respected by the majority of Irish football fans, the FAI has to start respecting it.

Former Ireland manager, Giovanni Trapattoni, is on record as saying: “in Ireland, unlike Austria and Sweden, has no league”. Through his broken English, he ignores the fact that without a domestic league his trip to the European Championships in 2012 could not have been possible. This is the same football tournament that pictures of the FAI chief executive, John Delaney, in a state of obliteration being carried on the heads of travelling fans without his shoes and socks, went viral on social media networks.

Delaney says he takes “a grave offence” at criticism of his behaviour during Ireland's dismal European Championships, insisting that he was “entitled” to a night out. With the FAI battling insurmountable debt from loans taken out to fund the Aviva Stadium, and their ‘international vantage club’ tickets not selling as planned; Delaney and the FAI must create a regeneration plan for the League of Ireland in order to see sustained competitive football on a national level for Ireland.

Ollie Byrne, former chairman of Shelbourne FC, once said: “the buck stops with me, I have to face the firing squad; I have to take blame for all this”. Perhaps it would be wise for John Delaney to take the advice of this former League of Ireland stalwart. A new professional attitude needs to be implemented by the FAI in order to create success. Ireland needs to step away from a ‘win or lose, were on the booze’ attitude. Without a flourishing domestic league, the national team will never compete at optimum levels. The League of Ireland needs to be nurtured not neglected in order for trips to Poznan, Paris, and afar to continue for fans of Irish football.  

S.DAWSON 02/10/13