LOI needs a hand so centenary show can go on

IN two months’ time — Friday March 19 — the League of Ireland centenary season is due to kick off. By now clubs have eased back into pre-season while adhering to strict Covid-19 protocols. The fixtures should be released soon, prompting chat among fans and jostling by TV stations for live coverage of the stand-out games. The late Michael Hayes always ensured the line-up for the opening night had plenty of pulling power. If the much-missed Michael was still with us, I’d have a wee wager that champions Shamrock Rovers would be up against Dundalk when the curtain rises. Assuming it does rise.

As it is, there is a large financial hole that requires plugging if the 2021 season is going to run its course. It’s estimated €6million is required to keep the Premier Division and First Division shows on the road. The clubs have made it clear they can’t underwrite such an amount themselves.

They face a second season starved of matchday income, staring down commercial cul-de-sacs. As the FAI are broke, the €6m can only come from the State, who coughed up €2.8m last season when the league restarted after a four-month break and ran over 18 games, rather than the usual 36. At the moment, a proposal is being put in place for submission to the Department of Sport. Some may feel a moral unease at the State signing off on such an amount for an estimated 500 footballers and coaching staff when the country is crying out for the purchase of vaccines to curb Covid-19. But elite sport is a distraction to Covid’s grey clouds. It lifts the spirits and hints at normality. Last year, the League of Ireland played its part across Dublin, Cork, Dundalk, Waterford, Sligo and Donegal, and other towns where the local senior football club is an emblem of sporting pride and defiance. A cry for help in the centenary year can’t be ignored.