The system needs to be turned on its head
Former Cork City player argues that the rebirth of the League of Ireland has to be a priority for a reformed FAI.
History informs us that everything happens in cycles and, after decades of relying on exporting our young footballers to Britain, a new dawn of player production is upon us in Ireland.
However, it urgently requires major investment so our domestic league can accommodate the talent coming through. My generation was forced to emigrate as kids to pursue a career in what was the highest participation sport in our country. This farcical situation should not be tolerated for the upcoming generations.
Like many others, I tuned in last week to watch the debacle of the FAI’s Oireachtas Committee hearing. To say that I was left fuming after eight hours of frustration is putting it mildly. Every man and his dog is up to speed with the evasive tactics used by the board on the day, but what really screamed out at me was the blatant disregard shown for our national league.
A long opening statement from the FAI president Donal Conway went into serious detail about the work they do and how they submit report after report to Sport Ireland. It was so detailed that I thought we were going to be informed about who makes the tea and coffee at official functions.
However, while I appreciate he was in an unenviable position, it was striking that the sole mention of the League of Ireland consisted of about five seconds of airtime when he informed the room that attendances had increased at Airtricity League games.
This comment came, despite the FAI having shown close to zero interest in marketing the league, as epitomised by the last-minute launch of the 2019 season in February.
These attendance figures are also debatable, depending on what timeframe you’re talking about, but what is beyond doubt and can’t be overstated is that any progress made in our beloved league is down to the hard work of the people in the clubs — and them alone.
It’s obvious that the ‘football family’ have a lot of time for the underage and grassroots sector, but what is the point in developing that side of the game if the most important component of football on these shores is grossly neglected? It’s like building a house and pouring everything into the foundations, but never having any intention of erecting walls or a roof. Where are all these grassroots players around the country expected to progress to?
The whole system now needs to be turned on its head so that the senior domestic league is at the forefront of the association’s efforts. The best players in this land ply their trade in the SSE Airtricity League, yet it’s rarely recognised how much of an achievement it is to become a Patsy Freyne, a Liam Coyle or a Chris Shields.
Plenty of recognition is given to Kings and Queens of niche sports but, for some reason, being one of the best at what is the most competitive sport in our country tends to be widely ignored.
To achieve success at the highest level of football in Ireland is a huge accomplishment, especially considering the challenges faced by the players. If you want to put it in GAA terms, you could say that the Irish international soccer team is equivalent to the All-star GAA team. Inter-county players are vying every year to be in the running for the highly coveted award, just like our young LOI players are aiming to play their way into the international reckoning, but more often than not the latter need to make a move to the UK before achieving the honour of getting a senior international cap.
Things are changing on the ground, though. In Mick McCarthy’s first squad of 38 players for the current European Championships qualifying campaign, 15 (39%) started their career in the League of Ireland, 14 (37%) were born in the UK and only nine (24%) players had moved from Ireland into the English youth system.
This is in stark contrast to Giovanni Trapattoni’s first 29-man squad in 2008, which consisted of 17 (59%) Irish-born players brought through the English youth system, seven (24%) born in the UK and only five (17%) from the League of Ireland.
More encouragingly still, Stephen Kenny’s first Irish squad for the U21 European qualifiers had nine (39%) SSE Airtricity League players in the 23, a real indicator of the change of direction in player development.
However, development of the structural support for our top-flight club football is another matter. If the FAI can’t handle the responsibility of overseeing the rebirth of our domestic league, they should look for another entity that is willing to invest the vision and drive needed to bring the structures of the league to the necessary standards.
Before the on-going drama in the FAI took over the headlines, Niall Quinn and Brian Kerr were floating a serious proposal for the future of the league which was the most
optimistic development for football on this island for a long time. With the obvious change in the player pathway in Irish football — and given the integrity of the two men behind this vision — we must give it serious consideration.
This week’s Premier Division clubs’ rejection of the FAI proposal for a new company to run the league confirms the need for fresh thinking.
The infrastructure of our senior domestic game requires a major overhaul. We now need to invest in marketing our product. This means dressing up the goods we have on offer to make it attractive to potential fans. I echo a paragraph from the recent Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland (PFAI) statement on the woes surrounding the governing body: “We need to start again, from now at year zero, and make professional football in this country and us, the players, the centrepiece of the rebirth.”
In the meantime, Sport Ireland and all other relevant bodies need to fight our corner and make the League Of Ireland a priority for the FAI. This week’s events, culminating in yesterday’s announcement that the board plans to step down, still leaves more questions than answers about the running of the FAI. But while we wait to find out what emerges from further scrutiny of the association’s finances and governance, Irish football’s embattled powers could do worse than heed the old but wise words of Bob Dylan:
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