League players get some relief from funds donated by Irish internationals

LEAGUE OF IRELAND players have started to tap into the emergency fund set up by Irish internationals to help them meet personal financial commitments during the Covid-19 crisis.

James McClean, Enda Stevens and other clients of Integrity Sports, the company run by ex-Irish player Graham Barrett, came together when football shut down to donate cash towards the league where they started their careers.

Their contribution was topped up by Ireland captain Seamus Coleman (pictured) and supporters group

You Boys In Green to bring the pot to the €30,000 mark, with the money handed over to players union PFAI so they could help struggling professionals who have been temporarily laid off and heavily affected by a loss of income.

A small number of initial applicants who have proven they need support to meet pressing financial commitments have now benefited from assistance, and others are going through a process which is being overseen independently by ex-League of Ireland player Gareth Cronin.

The former Cork City and Shamrock Rovers defender is an experienced financial professional and was asked to come in by the PFAI to manage the process. Cronin is receiving no payment for his contribution with his employers, the UK based Provident Financial Group, consenting to his involvement.

The 45-year-old is their chief internal auditor, having previously held senior roles in that area with AIB and Aviva. “Stephen (McGuinness, PFAI chief ) reached out to me two months ago,” said Cronin. “It’s been a while since I’ve been involved in the League of Ireland and he made me aware of the nature of the fund.

“He asked me to design criteria for players to apply for help. The overarching principle was to help as many players as possible.

“We designed rules for application and the evidence people have to provide and the players were made aware of that.

“We’ve started to get small numbers (of applications) in and I’m glad to say we’ve started to process them. Myself and Simone Flannery (PFAI employee) review them and in some cases we ask for evidence

to check that they can be deemed eligible.”

Criteria include whether the players have alternative sources of income, the number of dependants they have, their monthly overheads in terms of rent or mortgages, and the extent to which Covid-19 unemployment payments tally up with their overheads.

The maximum payment per player per month is €300, a mark that was set in order to prepare for worst case scenarios.

“We’re trying to keep the funds available for as long as possible, as we are recognising that it might be quite a while before the league kicks off again,” explained Cronin.

Players from around the league will today hold a conference call with FAI interim deputy CEO Niall Quinn to raise questions and concerns about the delay in agreeing a return to play due to the cash concerns of clubs about the viability of behind closed doors games.

McGuinness has said he believes that FIFA have a moral obligation to help struggling leagues such as the League of Ireland, given their current predicament.

World football’s governing body has hinted that a relief package may become available and the FAI have written to the authorities to outline the situation in Ireland.

As it stands, the FAI are dependent on Government support in the form of the Covid-19 wage subsidy and are trying to put together other elements of a compensation package. McGuinness feels that FIFA should be stepping in, given they have cash reserves of some €2.3 billion.

“They’ve had such controversy during Sepp Blatter’s time, now they can stand up and show that they care about football right across Europe and right across the world.

“Morally I think they have a responsibility and I’d be hopeful the assistance will come.”