Prizemoney will have to be carefully handled

THERE is a huge challenge and opportunity ahead for Dundalk Football Club following their European success this season.

The €7 million prize money already secured is a mouthwatering amount in Irish soccer and could increase further should they win the final qualifying round play off to reach the group stages of the Champions League.

There will be a view that Dundalk’s financial worries are over and certainly the prize money will make it much easier for the club’s owners and directors to run the club.

However money is being spent at a rapid rate during the European journey and the club will need bridging loans to finance their adventures before they receive anything from UEFA at the end of the year.

The club have already had two expensive trips to Iceland and Belarus, with the charter flight for the BATE Borisov game reported to have cost €65,000 alone.

Then there are accommodation expenses and the club face another four European away trips between now and the middle of December.

The club had to hire Tallaght Stadium last Wednesday, which was reported to cost €16,000, while some commentators have stated that a crowd of 25,000 will be needed in the Aviva for each of the four home European games to cover the expenses of staging the games in the Dublin venue.

It was also reported at the weekend that the players will each receive a €40,000 bonus for their achievement, while manager Stephen Kenny and his coaching staff will surely have their own bonus arrangements with the club.

All these costs eat into the prize money pot and show that the club face many challenges in managing their success and their new found riches.

Every supporter will have a view of what should be done with the money, but most will agree that the shortcomings in the facilities in Oriel Park must be addressed.

The club have an opportunity now to address this issue, resolve the lease arrangements, apply for funding which they will be able to match and develop Oriel Park into a more modern stadium.

How far they go along this road and how much they invest into the ground is a question they will have to consider carefully.

So too is the question of putting some of the prize money away for a rainy day and protecting the future of the club for years to come.

In short, the club have a whole new set of challenges to face in the months ahead.