WE NEED TO MERGE FOR OUR FUTURE

BRIAN KERR believes an All-island League would help clubs make bigger and more sustained inroads in Europe.

The former Republic of Ireland and St Pat’s manager is worried that the League of Ireland is going backwards in that regard.

Kerr (above) is a key figure in the Kieran

Lucid team driving the radical league proposals with Dutch data company Hypercube.

While a straight merger north and south was shot down by the IFA, a hybrid compromise is on the table.

And 20 of the 22 top flight clubs from the League of Ireland and Irish League signed a letter urging UEFA to consider the blueprint.

Essentially the proposal is for both leagues to play their own competitions over two full rounds before merging to compete for an All-island crown.

Both leagues would retain their own domestic cup competitions as well as lucrative European places.

Kerr added: “Hypercube pointed out that the future is about more competitive matches – no matter where you are in the table – until the last game of the season.

“That’s what keeps the public’s interest, the media’s interest and the sponsors’ interest.

“We saw how long it took to get an agreement on what sort of a league we’d have here, so to end up with 20 out of 22 agreeing on something very radical is hopeful. It’s in the hands of the two associations and UEFA to make the next moves.

“I want to see us having better players, better coaches – the game developed and participation increased. Young kids would aspire to be part of it more than they do now. They go now because that’s just the way it is.

“But I’d like a situation where they’re saying, ‘I want to play in that league that has good crowds, a high profile, that players are going into the international teams’. I’d like that fellas are being sold for millions rather than thousands and that money is going back into the game.”