John Fallon: Uefa's expansion makes LOI progression the expected norm

Over half of Uefa’s 55 member nations were represented in last season’s Conference League phase and the League of Ireland is primed for a repeat. Failure by all three contenders would be simply inexcusable.

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s Besiktas face St Pat’s tomorrow.

IT wasn’t winning Uefa’s new third competition that Todd Boehly had in mind when his purchase of Chelsea in 2022 was accompanied by a €1.5bn investment in new players.

Yet the advent of the Conference League that season has proven a boon for smaller nations such as Ireland, offering their most realistic route of extending participation into the winter.