Linfield boss says no to All-Ireland League plans

PLANS for an All-Ireland League have received a major thumbs down, with Northern Ireland’s top club Linfield saying that the concept is a ‘non-starter’.

Despite reports that the Belfast club was one of 10 from both sides of the border which supported the idea, chairman Jim Kerr yesterday poured cold water on the plan for a 10-team ‘Super League’ to commence as early as 2010.

Kerr said yesterday: “I attended an informal meeting at which the former chief executive of Derry City, Jim Roddy, put forward some proposals. But I wasn’t happy with what was on the table and in my eyes it is a non-starter.

“For a start, the Irish League clubs would have to go full-time in order to compete and that throws up problems of its own. You only have to look at Shelbourne to see what can happen when the revenue isn’t coming in.

“It would also mean the number of European places being cut in half.

“To sustain all-Ireland football you would need average attendances of around 5,000,” he added. “That fan base doesn’t exist at most clubs.”

The FAI may be open to sitting down with the proponents of an All-Ireland soccer league but the governing bodies on both sides of the border will also need a lot of convincing before it ever becomes a reality.

“The goal is to get some stability in our own league and increase attendances, so I can’t see this happening in the short-term,” said an FAI source.

Ten clubs from both sides of the border — including big guns like Drogheda United, Bohemians, Cork City, Derry City and Glentoran — are reported to be backing plans for the All-Ireland ‘Super League’. However, clearance from the FAI, the IFA and UEFA would be crucial.

Supporters of the move point to the success of the Setanta Cup and increased north-south co-operation as the context in which the new league would attract sponsorship and tv money, and they also say that they have government approval on both sides of the border for the plan.

Another north-south issue will be back on FIFA’s agenda on Saturday when the world governing body discusses the Irish player eligibility row at its meeting in Tokyo. Last month, FIFA’s legal department issued a proposal that backed the right of players in the North to play for the Republic.

On Tuesday, the matter was even raised in the Stormont Assembly when a Unionist motion condemning FIFA’s proposal failed to gain the backing of Sinn Féin and the SDLP.

Meanwhile, manager Damien Richardson was still awaiting word from Cork City yesterday on his precarious position at the club, even as it was confirmed that City have, through an intermediary, already approached ex-Longford manager Alan Mathews about taking over at Turner’s Cross.