PRIZE MONEY IN the League of Ireland will not be increased for the 2025 season.
Despite a new four-year TV deal with Virgin Media and a commercial partnership with Rockshore, the figure for winning the Premier Division will remain at €125,000.
It’s €32,000 for the FAI Cup winners, as well as a share of the Aviva Stadium gate, but League of Ireland director Mark Scanlon confirmed today that a decision was made to maintain prize money at current levels before reassessing ahead of 2026.
Part of the reasoning for opting not to increase their own direct funding is because close to €4 million will come into the Irish game from UEFA.
At a time of unprecedented growth, including rising attendances, record season ticket sales for clubs, a 42% increase in television audiences and a 140% increase on the number of LOI TV subscriptions taken out compared to the same time last year, the sides who took part in the Premier Division in 2024 are also set to receive their increased share of renegotiated UEFA Solidarity Payments next month.
As Shamrock Rovers reached the group stages of the UEFA Conference League they will not be entitled to the money.
For the 2024/25 cycle, it was confirmed that €288,000 will be forthcoming to each top-flight club in February, with €45,000 being distributed to each First Division side. Dundalk, relegated, to the second tier for the upcoming campaign, will get the larger amount.
As things stand, with Rovers set to face Molde in the Conference League play-off next month, it’s estimated that a minimum of an extra €700,000 will be spread around the other nine Premier Division clubs. That will increase should the Hoops progress further and the final total will only be calculated once the competition is completed in June with clubs then getting a further cash injection the following month.
It is only new regulations set out by UEFA that dictate the discrepancy between the payments to Premier and First Division clubs. The National League Committee voted to ensure that those in the second tier received the maximum 15% share.
Per the terms of these Solidarity Payments, clubs cannot use the money for first-team wages or transfers, but instead towards the overall infrastructure sustainability of the club – such as academy costs and training facilities.
“There is big money that comes in from UEFA club competitions. The positive from our side of it is, we had €1.45 million [last year], it’s going to be over €3.7m this year. It’s more money coming into Irish football which is a positive,” Scanlon said, before explaining the reasoning behind keeping prize money at current levels.
“You’re focusing on the prize fund part as opposed to a 205% increase in the funding towards the clubs. We don’t just put it into prize money. If we just put it into prize money, then all of a sudden we’re taking away any criteria that we have and it can just be spent on wages and not sustainable.
“Our focus is trying to put it into areas that is… incremental increase in prize money that’s in a sustainable way. We don’t want to get it to a stage where we put all of the money because we had it for one particular year into a prize fund, the clubs expect to play for that level and it’s not sustainable afterwards. We want to ensure that some of the funding that is distributed is spent in specific areas. That’s why it’s the overall increase of funding to the clubs that’s the important figure as opposed to just prize money.
“Everything that we’ve have brough additionally in terms of broadcast and commercial we will make sure it gets spent back in the clubs. Do we have any plans to increase it? Yes, we do. We’d love to get additional commercial partners in and we want to increase the funding at all levels across to clubs but that is going to take time and hard work.
“We’ve done a lot of that over the last few years. There is real positivity around the league right now and we will try to utilise that to bring in more partners and more funding into the league. When we do that it will go directly back to the clubs.”
With relation to academy funding, and their stated wish for an €8 million commitment per year from Government to “transform” the industry, Scanlon said he hopes to meet with officials in Leinster House within the next two weeks.
Last September, chief football officer Marc Canham insisted that the picture would be clearer before the end of 2024 on the academy funding issue. “Before the end of the year we’ll know where we are. I don’t know what an announcement will look like but, certainly based on our conversation with the Government on that specific item, we’ll have a good understanding of where we are by the end of the year,” he said.
Scanlon was adamant that talks had been “positive” and that the FAI were “really encouraged” by references to LOI academies in party manifestos. The recent Programme for Government agreed by Fianna Fail, Fine Gael, and Independents, also stated they would “explore new mechanisms for the creation of football academies with the FAI and the League of Ireland.”
“That’s really encouraging for us going into this new political cycle,” Scanlon said. “We would be confident, and we will certainly be pushing for that investment as soon as possible. Hopefully that will be within 2025.
“We wouldn’t be certain on that [coming this year], it’s not something we have a guarantee on. We’ve sent in our proposal; we’ve had various submissions and multiple conversations over the last number of years.
“The progression of where that’s got to, the fact you see it in the Programme for Government is a first, it’s something we really welcome and we’re really looking forward to working with the incoming Government and hopefully that funding is rolled out to clubs as soon as possible to develop the academy system and football industry.”
Ahead of the start of the new season, “in and around 20,000 tickets” have so far been sold by Bohemians for their opener with Shamrock Rovers at Aviva Stadium on Sunday, 16 February.
The €42 million redevelopment of Dalymount Park, in partnership with Dublin City Council, remains on course and this campaign will be the last before it is demolished. The FAI expect Bohs to return for the start of the 2028 season with no plans yet confirmed for where they will play in the interim.
Appetite for their Dublin derby with Rovers at the 51,000-capacity Aviva may determine whether Bohs will consider attempting to use the Dublin 4 venue again.
Scanlon insisted it could be feasible for the club play more games there over the next few years but said the FAI have no current plans to schedule any other league fixtures there.
He also confirmed that Dundalk had no outstanding football debts heading into this season.
Ireland need Wales to win at home tonight! We then need Ireland to beat England. Then in the two remaining weekends we need the following to win the c’ship
1) Ireland to beat Scotland & Italy at home – good odds
2) Wales to lose to England in Twickenham – good odds
3) Scotland to beat France in Murrayfield – reasonable odds
4) Finally, we need England to lose in Paris….hmmn??
So folks, win this weekend and we’re sort of back in the game!!
Was looking doable until “Scotland to beat..”
Come on France (Never thought i would be saying that)
More gamesmanship from wales..
“Gats”
Come on Wales !!!