€ 100k a year to fund Dynamos in League of Ireland

IT is estimated it will cost € 100,000 a year to finance Tralee Dynamos if the club is successful in obtaining a licence to compete in the new League of Ireland Division One, with club officials warning that top flight football will not be viable unless the money can be raised.

This Thursday Dynamos will make their final submission to the FAI regarding their licence application for Division 1 of the League of Ireland and they should know their fate by the end of the month.

The FAI have not yet indicated how many teams will be in Division 1 but it will be finalised over the next few weeks as the fixtures list will be out early in February.

Dynamos held a public meeting in Tralee during the week and used the opportunity to update club members on their application and answer questions from players and members.

Top of the agenda was the financing of a team in the League of Ireland, which is the biggest challenge the club face right now. They will have to obtain a finances certificate to meet the requirements of the FAI, and marketing manager Richard Wong says the club is ready for the challenge of raising the finances necessary.

The club is about to launch a new website to market the club and make merchandise available for sale at their online shop.

Wong says they are ready to go with their 400 club membership which will be their main fundraiser. He says they must sell the club to the soccer fraternity in Kerry and get as many soccer fans and business people to join the membership. He said the club will be targeting the business sector in a big way and are confident they can get a lot of them on board.

Dynamos general manager Colm Clifford admits the club is now at a crossroads as they have committed to try and join the League of Ireland and if they are not accepted they will be in limbo.

Clifford says the feedback they have been getting from their meetings with the FAI have been very positive and they are cautiously optimistic that they may get the green light to play League of Ireland football.

“It has always been the aim of the club to play at the highest level possible and after brining so many young players through the Emerging Talent Programme over the past seven or eight years it is our duty to give them a chance to play League of Ireland football,” Clifford stated.