Questions to answer if our league really is to progress

With the new season fully into its stride and the Conroy Report still under discussion, former Cork City player Neal Horgan argues that some of the most crucial issues facing the League of Ireland have yet to be properly addressed and that action is required to improved things.

When the FAI announced they were commissioning a report into the League of Ireland in 2015, I was hardly alone in warmly welcoming the news. And by the time Declan Conroy published his findings last September, I really hoped that I was about to read a serious and progressive plan for reform of the Irish game.

First impressions were of a substantial undertaking, many of whose recommendations have indeed been well received — such as an increase in prize money, the re-introduction of marketing personnel specific to our league, and the introduction of club ambassadors and a league ‘champion’ to promote the senior game in this country.