Future of local soccer is at a crisis crossroads

SOCCER in Kerry is in enormous difficulties this season with teams giving walkovers now every weekend. Last weekend there were seven walkovers, which is totally unacceptable by any standards. Prior to this season it was the teams in the lower divisions that were conceding games but now it is happening in the top flight of Kerry soccer, which is very ominous indeed.

During the week the almost unbelievable happened with the kingpins of Kerry soccer, Tralee Dynamos, conceding the points to Killarney Athletic.

At the weekend in Premier A Rattoo Rovers gave a walkover to Killarney Celtic, while walkovers were conceded in three of the quarter finals of the U-17 Cup and in Division 1B.

Elsewhere, the game is in deep trouble at Youth and Under-17 level with walkovers being conceded every week and only five teams participating in the Jimmy Falvey Memorial Cup. This decline in the game county-wide is a very troubling development for the KDL and they have to act quickly to address the mess the game is in at the moment.

The downward trend is not being helped by the fact that there are too many teams in Tralee, 13 in all. If players have any bit of a disagreement with their club there are plenty of other clubs who will accommodate them. The problem in Kerry soccer is that it is too easy to form a club and if 14 or 15 lads who are friends meet in a pub and can get a few euro together they are guaranteed a place in the KDL.

Year in year out many of these new clubs fold up when they are getting beat every week or get cash strapped, and players go on to play with other clubs or come back further down the line under a different name. This can’t be right and stricter criteria should be set for teams being accepted into the KDL.

I have been following soccer for over 40 years now and I have never seen the game in such a poor state in the county. I always have the welfare of the game at heart and it pains me to see the game on the decline and but quality is always much more important that quantity.

Fixtures are always the big issue in the KDL and while a number of efforts has been made to try and iron out the difficulties that exist, no satisfactory solution has been found that will satisfy everyone.

When this season concludes the KDL should take a long hard look at the structure of the league and put measures in place to address the problems that exist within the league at present.

Eight teams is enough to have in any division and teams who give walkovers must be dealt with much more harshly. The KDL should also consider running a summer league as it is working very well in other counties.

If the current alarming issues are not addressed the game will go on an irreversible downward spiral that could see pitch gates closed all over the county and fine amenities lying idle.

It is time for the KDL to take the bull by the horns and sort out the obstacles they face before it is too late. Soccer in Kerry is now at a crossroads and unless urgent action is taken to deal with the problems that exist the future of the game will be very pessimistic indeed.

There are a lot of people doing tremendous work promoting the game around the county and their interests should be safeguarded or again we could see a couple of the top Kerry sides going back to playing in the Munster Senior League again.

From speaking to the clubs at grassroots level around the county there are a lot of very dissatisfied people out there who are not happy with the way soccer is going in Kerry at present and they will have to be listened to if the future of the game is to be preserved.

These opinions are not intended to be a personal attack on the people at the coalface of the KDL as I fully appreciate all the great work they do, but the difficulties they now face are at crisis point. The clubs around the county deserve answers and measures must be put in place to steer the game back on the right path again.

Soccer in Kerry is now at a crossroads and unless urgent action is taken to deal with the problems that exist the future of the game will be very pessimistic indeed nothing being done about it. It is fine to have all these new facilities in place