Stage is set for League to kick on
An increased prize-fund pot means it is all to play for as new season dawns
ADORNING the walls of Vicar Street, posters of Joan Baez, Sinéad O’Connor and Imelda May, among others, are a reminder of the venue’s pulling power in the heart of The Liberties.
It was the turn yesterday of the SSE Airtricity League’s all-star cast of managers and players to strut their stuff in Dublin’s Thomas Street at the launch of the 2024 season
Some, like Jon Daly, the manager of St Pat’s, had only a short distance to travel. Others, such as Kerry FC’s Conor McCarthy, the youngest manager in the league at 26, left Killarney at 6.0am.
The mood was upbeat and why not? Everyone is on a level footing ahead of the new season, which starts tomorrow week for the men’s Premier Division and First Division, while the Women’s
There is a scramble for the rights to show games
Premier Division kicks off on March 9.
There is much to play for, or rather more to play for in 2024 with a 17 per cent increase in prizemoney from €655,000 to €765,000. Of that, €110,000 is being set aside for the Women’s Premier Division, which compares to a paltry €20,000 in 2021.
Mark Scanlon, the League of Ireland director, was eager to promote ‘the good news’ on the prize fund front, made possible by broadcasters bumping up the SSE Airtricity pot.
There was a time when RTÉ showed the FAI Cup final live and not much else. Now, there is a scramble across RTÉ, Virgin Media and TG4 for the rights to show games.
Scanlon argued the prize fund figure is, effectively, in excess of €1m as clubs no longer pay an affiliation fee, which totalled €250,000 and was scrubbed after the Covid season of 2020.
‘We had the opportunity to reintroduce the affiliation fee and we could have inflated the prize money by the affiliation fee amount but it didn’t make sense,’ he said. ‘So if you take that (affiliation fee) in addition to the prize money that’s here, then the overall contribution is up,’ he said.
For all the trumpet-blowing, the prize money is less than what the clubs were playing for 15 years ago, something that can’t be said about rival professional leagues across Europe in that timespan.
I’ve long championed a proper monetary reward for League of Ireland clubs, most of whom are financing full-time operations involving coaching staff, club officials, players and academies.
There should be an absolute minimum of €1m for the Premier Division champions, another €500,000 for the FAI Cup winners and a bonus of €500,000 for the double. I’d also allocate €100,000 apiece for the winners of the men’s First Division and the Women’s Premier Division.
Still, any increase is better than none at all.
Maybe when Dalymount Park is finally upgraded; the Donegal Community Stadium built and the likes of Tolka Park, Oriel Park and United Park, among others, are scrubbed up into modern allseater stadia, there will be more in the pot to go around.
Not all is perfect ahead of battle with Scanlon confirming that Ian Stokes, the respected League of
Ireland referees manager has handed in his notice.
Stokes was seeking more manpower to cope with the demands of the job but was turned down, so he quit for ‘a new venture’, according to Scanlon.
That Waterford owner Andy Pilley was imprisoned for 13 years last July for fraud is not a good look for the Blues, or the League of Ireland either, who welcomed Pilley on board.
‘There is a process ongoing in terms of Waterford FC,’ said Scanlon when asked about the ownership status of the club.
While the women’s clubs north and south will again compete for the Avenir All-Island Cup, there are no plans to revive the men’s equivalent, formerly known as the Setanta Sports Cup, which was last contested in 2014.
As for the League Cup, played for between 1973 and 2019, it too has been mothballed. ‘We don’t envisage the League Cup returning,’ said Scanlon.
There are no plans to switch the date of the FAI Cup final on November 10, which falls a day after New Zealand play Ireland at rugby in Aviva Stadium.
‘Unfortunately, that time of the year involves both the rugby schedule and the football schedule.
‘Our international window starts the next day, so it’s always a challenge,’ said Scanlon, who is targeting a full house for the Cup final after a crowd of almost 44,000 attended last November.
The capacity at Vicar Street is a lot less at 1,500, which just tops the 1,464 record attendance for a Women’s Premier Division game.
The FAI is expecting a new high mark at some point in 2024. That’ll be something for Imelda May to sing about.