THE FAI ARE working to introduce new regulations that will force League of Ireland clubs to provide a minimum number of minutes to academy players in competitive games each season.

The 42 understands that discussions are ongoing and that the 2028 campaign has been earmarked as a potential target for the change in rules across the Premier and First Division.

There is an acceptance in the FAI that such a mechanism for the compulsory promotion of academy players cannot be rushed, and no fixed start date has been set.

However, with initial government funding of €3 million being unlocked this year to develop the academy system and produce players, there is also a growing understanding within the FAI and in clubs that they will have to show a return on that State investment.

The 42 has learned that an informal attempt last year from the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland to secure a minimum of two academy players in each matchday squad was rejected by clubs.

In this instance, sources have stressed that a guaranteed number of minutes each season is the preferred way to help with development.

In 2024, a report was commissioned by the European Club Association that centred on the transition of players from academies to first team football.

A core finding of the study was that 450 cumulative minutes of action was deemed sufficient across a season. Just five academy players aged 19 or under have met that criteria in the Premier Division so far this term, while there is a firm belief within the FAI that the number of minutes across a campaign for League of Ireland academy graduates would actually need to be significantly higher than 450.

The FAI’s Head of League of Ireland Academies, Will Clarke, made a presentation earlier this week detailing how the government’s €3m funding has so far allowed for the creation of 47 new full-time roles relating to academy football.

Currently, 63% of those have been filled and Clarke expects that to rise to 90% by the end of the year. With €43,500 in State funding towards the salary of each Academy Director position and €38,500 for the Head of Academy Coaching, The 42 understands that the only League of Ireland club yet to appoint an Academy Director is Shamrock Rovers.

Tony Cousins is set to be confirmed as the club’s Head of Academy Coaching while the Hoops are biding their time with finalising the top position after Simon Friel departed as Academy Director in August 2025.

“These jobs are important and there are no shortcuts here, so you’ve got to prepare. They are really, really important jobs. These are probably going to be the 50 most important football jobs in this country for the next 10 years,” Clarke said on Tuesday.

“At the moment the academy system definitely has a bias in it towards the early physical maturer,” Clarke said on Tuesday.

“It means we’re overlooking huge amounts of talent because we don’t have the information to make more informed decisions on players and their potential.

“We’re having to make a judgement call on players way too young or far too soon and because the culture in Ireland is about this… now it is changing slightly but probably not quickly enough, we’re still overly focused on the success of a team as opposed to the development of an individual.

“That’s what we need to move away form. That takes time, that’s a cultural thing that we’ve all grown up with, myself included, it’s definitely an education thing and culture thing. We’re trying to change all that.”