ATTENDANCES AT LEAGUE of Ireland matches have risen by 20%, according to Uefa’s annual landscape report.
The annual document is among Uefa’s signature pieces of research, and it takes a snapshot of the trends and realities of football across Europe.
This year’s report shows that crowds at LOI Premier Division games have risen by 20% on 2022 to an aggregate of 587,900. (For summer seasons such as the LOI’s, Uefa’s figures cover 1 January to 31 December 2023.)
Only the top tiers of Croatia, Estonia, Finland, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Norway, Poland, and Romania showed a higher percentage increase in crowds than the LOI.
This aggregate attendance ranks the LOI 28th among 54 top-flight leagues across Europe. The average attendance was 3,300, which ranks the LOI 25th in Europe. The largest single league attendance figure last year was 8,000 people, which rated 36th in Europe. (This has been comfortably outstripped in 2024 following the opening of the fourth stand at Tallaght Stadium, which has hosted crowds of 10,000 people.)
Uefa’s research shows that few leagues are so reliant on local head coaches as the LOI: 94% of head coaches in 2023 played in the either the Premier Division or First Division, a higher figure than any other in Europe. It is also a league for young coaches: just 7% of last season’s bosses had at least five previous managerial stints elsewhere. This rated the LOI 52 of 54 leagues.
The relatively small influence is also evident in playing squads: 26% of total minutes were played by expatriate players, which ranks the LOI 44th on the European table. (Andorra’s league had the highest percentage – 80% – while the Premier League ranked fifth, with 64%.)
The report estimates the LOI Premier and First Divisions earned a net total of €600,000 in transfer fees last year, which places the leagues 30th across Europe.
In part recognition of the longer contracts now being handed to players, squad churn was relatively low, with an average of 3.4 inbound players per club. At 49th, this is among the lowest in Europe.
On a broader level, Uefa’s report found a 7% increase in attendances across Europe, with 229 million fans attending men’s and women’s games. The highest aggregate attendance was recorded in the Premier League, and in proof of England’s remarkable appetite for live football, the second-highest aggregate attendance across Europe was recorded in the Championship.
Elsewhere, Uefa found that transfer spending across Europe fell by 8% to €6,7 billion, which they attributed largely to the smaller funds spent by clubs in Saudi Arabia. 30% of this spend was committed by just 10 clubs, with Chelsea found to have the highest gross spend of the summer (€261 million.) Brighton were found to have had the highest net spend, at €183 million.
The average transfer fee for a player coming to the Premier League was reported at €15.6 million.
The summer 2024 transfer window saw a record 13% proportion of transfer investment directed at teenage players, and the trend in which clubs prioritised younger players is evident in the fact that 53% of all monies were spent on players under the age of 23.
Looking at the 100 most expensive players of the window, the average age of these players was 23.7. One Irish player appeared among this top 100, believed to be Jake O’Brien’s transfer from Lyon to Everton.
The full report can be read here.
I think the way MON treats Tony O’donoghue in almost every post match interview is classless, Tony asks perfectly reasonable questions, framing them as politely as possible, trying not to upset his majesty. He is treated with contempt and nastiness by MON. You could see when the camera went back to the studio how they all wanted to comment on it but have probably been told from on high not to, as Dunphy tried to bring this up previously
Well said. A total lack of respect for the RTÉ journalist. O’Neill is fully accountable and needs to explain his team’s awful performance and his strategy (which I doubt there is).
@Martin Fahy: who cares though, its results we want not interviews
A total lack of respect for RTE? GIVE RESPECT GET RESPECT. RTE are classless by nature
@Martin Fahy:
Tony is always Mr Negative. I will never forget the attack he launched on the league of Ireland manager when he was caretaking Ireland after the team had won 3-1. Wouldn’t have done it if he had been a manager from the English league. Classless, it takes two to tango.
@Con Murphy: negative by nature? , 2 grossly over paid part time manager / slash media personalities serve up utter muck , boring ineffective muck at that and they can’t be questioned ? I mean winning muck is one thing but that that shit€ is a effrontery to every U 10 coach in the country trying coach a play it from the back, on the ground style of football . We had to resort to long ball hack-a-thon to draw with country with a ranking high enough to be a cooking temperature
@Tensing Norgay:
Well said. It’s a mystery how Roy Keane can put his name to that sh!te.
@Con Murphy: that was noel king a long time employee of the FAI. Not some league of ireland manager, many of whom could do a decent job
@Martin Fahy: agreed. His why should I tell you comment last night was a disgrace. You should tell him because he is asking on behalf of the fans, tell him because he is asking on behalf of people who give up their time to travel to watch muck like that. People can take not winning, and take losing, no irish fan expects to win every game, but we should not be expected to accept performances and tactics like last night. And certainly not expect to see an attitude like that when quizzes about it.
@Chris Byrne:
He’s pretty thin-skinned all right
@Tensing Norgay:
We have had worse results under Trapp Staunton etc, still got an away draw! Yes the team was poor but they should be 100% better in the Aviva next Tuesday night.
@David Clements:
You are blinded by the bright lights of the premiership,many of those managers would never get a job with an half decent continental side.
Noel King did not deserve the condesending attitude of the RTE celebrity interviewer,I for one am glad Martin took no c**p from know it all Tony.
@Trevor Connolly: I would have beep pissed to have spent a fortune to watch that shite.
Whatever about the result, it’s the performance that is hurting the most, made Georgia look like Brazil. I hate picking him out but Whelan was atrocious. Brady’s set pieces are very overrated, I can’t remember the last time he put a good delivery into the box (still a legend for that goal against Italy tho)
@Robert O’Sullivan: Whelan is and has always been overrated. I don’t know how he makes the team
@Robert O’Sullivan: I was at the Bristol City villa game last Friday night I didn’t realise Whealan was on the field till half time. But O’Neill has to take the flack for this if he’s gonna play hoofball then at least play Murphy up front who’s 6’2″ long is 5’11″ at best ffs
@Robert O’Sullivan: In fairness to Whelan, he is a good defensive midfielder with “defensive” being the operative word. He has proven his worth against good opposition and protects the back four against any team we are not expected to beat but we usually do quite well as underdogs and he has an important role during those games.
But against teams like Georgia, he shouldn’t be starting. We need a lot more creativity in midfield to expose the weaknesses of defensively inferior opposition and that’s not Whelans game so why is he playing! I’m baffled by his selection today and it sends the wrong message to the rest of the players. Tactically inept decision making by Martin O’ Neill may very well cost us a place in the World Cup. He needs to trust his attacking players a lot more against teams like Georgia and take the game to them.
@Robert O’Sullivan: you would think it was Germany we were playing Technically superior and even white jerseys
@Celtic Spirit:
Because we don’t have anyone else.
Ben woodburn 17 years years of age comes on and scores, Martin O’Neill would never make that substitution. And how was Robbie Brady left on for 90 minutes tonight, dreadful performance.
@Joe Connolly: he was quite lazy for their goal.
Surely now time for Maguire?Dundalk or Cork City would sweep that Irish team aside. Totally ouplayed by Georgia ffs, say’s it all….
For players that train day in day out, they seem to have no technical ability on the ball and panic when in possession. This Irish performance was like a junior soccer team in action and not for time. This team would be an embarrassment at at a world cup
Il self combust if I hear “Glenn Whelan is a good player just because he was a starer in premier league “one more time. He’s useless contributes nothing.
Watching that game tonight I would actually prefer if they didn’t qualify because it will be a disastrous World Cup
I always held Martin O’Neil in a very high regard but seen his after match interview with Tony O’Donohue tonight I really belive he does not know how to handle the simple questions put to him or how to motivate these players all I saw was arrogance
Wales won so now we have to get a result in Wales !! Fecked up – We left Wales back in with a good chance
Incredible that we sat back immediately after scoring. Georgia’s weakest line is their back four. Technically their midfield is far superior to ours, so what do we do? We put no pressure on their back four and let their midfield have the ball so that they can open us up time and time again. Painful to watch. No leadership on the pitch, O’Neill tactically clueless and players looked disinterested. Total shambles.
How do you expect that that team to qualify? MoN has got the best out of a team that would struggle in the championship
@RMell: ‘That’ team tonight are mostly Premiership players playing in better leagues than most of the Georgian players.
How can you say MON has got the best out of the players after that ?
And what does Roy Keane contribute apart from controversial comments and slagging off his own players in public time and time again.
Oh I forgot, he brings out the bag of balls and bibs before training sessions
@RMell: o’neill would struggle managing in the championship.
@RMell: I’m sick of these statements. We don’t have bad players at all. It’s a rubbish excuse that has been wheeled out. O’Neill was all about Serbia having much better quality to us, like he was already looking for excuses.
@RMell: Give over he won’t let them play football have u seen after at Bournemouth Robbie Brady at Burnley these boys can ball
@Martin Fahy:
Not premiership most are championship.
@Martin Fahy: you do realise that the players are very poor standard. Our premiership players will be scrapping at the bottom for survival in what is the most overrated league in the world , the rest can barely get a game with their clubs in the championship. You can’t make a silk purse from a sows ear.
Appalling. Tonight was the night we blew our chance of qualification. We won’t beat Serbia next Tuesday and won’t win in Wales. Goodnight Irene!
@The Karaoke Jogger:
Thank for the total negativity. This team can play much better than this and are capable of beating both Serbia and Wales.
@Con Murphy: I’m realistic. They’re capable of one flash in the pan but not two. They can barely string three passes together and they hoof like GAA players. Ugly beyond belief.
@The Karaoke Jogger:
And you have to knock the GAA as well!!!
@Con Murphy: Of course! Don’t get me started on that shower. Enjoy the replay :-).
Headline says it all .. as for Martin o Neil’s interview . Just like how he manages.. classless
@Steve McMahon:
Very unfair comment on a manager who has a poor team on the verge of qualifying.
With Wales winning tonight and a guaranteed 3 points in next match Ireland will struggle to stay second in group unless they beat Serbia which is highly unlikely.
@Anto Mahon: yep , tonight may have lost it for us
Please, nobody ever mention Brady’s magic left foot again. He is a spoofer.
@GARFARKLE:
You must have forgotten his previous goals and assists. Short memory.
God awful all around. Management and players. Now isn’t the time for looking for answers it’s time to call it like it is and say it’s not good enough. Walters on 50 caps tonight and like a quiet little boy going along with a game plan like that. Terrible
Ronnie Whelan and Dunphy have a blind spot when it comes to Mc Clean.
One trick pony with a bad attitude and certainly not international standard .
This is the worst crop of Irish players for a long time .
Coupled with that they’re led by a spoofer on a very generous salary.
In bygone days we always had a couple of exceptional/talented players that carried us along.
But not now.
@jim shevlin: At least he cares. Should have put the header away and could have got lucky with the other chance any other day. He has passion the jersey too
@jim shevlin:
Played badly away from home and still pulled of a draw! Can win all next 3 games.
@jim shevlin:
If the players are the worst ever how is the manager a “spoofer” if he has brought them to the brink of qualifying?
McClean has been one of our best and most committed players all the way including scoreing goals. Credit where its due!
Would anyone want to see this dreadful team at a World Cup? They are useless and would be whipping boys in Russia. We just don’t have the quality needed, no point in dressing it up as anything else.. Shane Long wouldn’t score if he was there for a week against similar opposition
Stone age football
Whatever about players being of this quality or that, its painful to watch such lacklustre performance. McLean ran himself ragged and fought like a dog for everything, how other fellas can’t bring passion and intensity for a world cup qualifier is beyond me. Sad sad stuff.
Worst performance ever !! And now Wales are winning ! We left back in it !
Disgraceful performance
Most of the players looked very poor. Slow and no technical skills. Georgia deserved all 3 points. A team like Ireland playing ugly brutish football has no business in the World Cup.
O neill thinks he knows better than everyone else. Playing out dated football. It’s rooster measuring as its finest. Won’t be in a job come november
This was a really poor display tonight . A real lack of quality in the team.
This a Georgia team that had to scrap a point against Moldova.
@purple rain: and this is an Ireland team that starts Glen Whelan and Stephen Ward. Georgia, technically, are far superior to Ireland. We tend to get carried away with media views on our abilities, RTE’s reference to the world rankings being a case in point. Georgia is a country with footballing pedigree producing a team like Dinamo Tibilisi back in the day. We produced Shamrock Rovers. This is a poor Irish team. Spirit and endeavour, without talent and tactics, will only get you so far.
@Sean @114: But the other ONeill who s last team was Rovers is a far superior manager, doing a lot better with less of a poll of players and still able to pass the ball around. Glenn Whelan would do well to get into the Rovers team to be fair..hed do well to get into the ladies team..
Serious lack of quality in this team. This has to be the worst performance for some time
They don’t deserve to go through to the world cup. Embarrassing performance. I really wanted georgia to win as they put everything they had into it.
@Tony O Neill:
Sad.
It doesn’t seem to matter who the manager is this is a typical Irish preformamce
@Dain Flemming: McCarthy and Kerr played a lot better football with their teams, a few bad results but at least it was watchable
No difference between MON & Trapp! Same shite. Look at N.Ireland, they try and keep the ball on the deck and play good football. With the quality of players they have!
Wow. For sure not their best performance but thats a very very negative lot of comments. I dont think we are giving Georga enough credit they put our guys under a lot of pressure and played very well.. we got out of there with a draw, we were lucky. Come on the lads I believe in you a lot of induvidual talent on the pitch, now we need a leader, a plan and a team.. Come on the boys in green
@Cathal Leonard: and a new manager!
@Cathal Leonard: admire your positivity , but any Ireland supporters watching that know it was easily one of the worst displays at international level ever and there’s no need to try sugar coat it, the criticism is warranted , they couldn’t string a pass together , couldn’t tackle and tactically played below any league of Ireland side , hoofing wishful balls into no mans land without any thought , that Ireland were so bad and Georgia could manage 70% possession and not beat such a poor Irish set up them only shows them up for the poor side they are / Ireland were pure muck
Arter, Hendrick and Wes in a 3 man midfield would certainly add a bit of spark but you could play Kroos, Inesitia, and Modric there tonight and it wouldn’t have made a difference as the ball was hoofed up front.
Saying that I expect a win against Serbia, this team has always preformed when up against it and public opinion against them
How anybody would travel around the world to watch Ire play is a mystery to me. I have been watching Irish soccer for many a year and you take out a bunch of the top guys like Keane, Brady Giles, over the years the rest of them could not play to save their lives very average only fit for the Irish league . So in fact they did very well for a team that does not have one superstar on the team and if these guys are making a living in the U.K. fair play to them their fooling someone.
LOL ! Even with 2 managers for a national side with a couple of stars, small time stars at that , and they a produce a performance like that. It only goes to show that you can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.
When are these fans going to come to there senses and stop going to watch this team playing rubbish. Shocking display played off the park. And on Tuesday if we win well be back to this ” you’ll never beat the Irish rubbish”
@postmanbill:
With supporters like you!? Stick to the rugger!
Stopped going after the Austria game have seen absoulety no reason to go back they’re playing another sport ffs! What is that I’ve never seen anything like utter shiiite
@Morizy:
I don’t care if they are shit.They are our shit.If I was in Dublin I would go to the game Tuesday night to support them.
@Martin Fahy: Tony thinks he is Walter Kronkite. What sense is any manager going to make ten minutes after a match? All this ‘I am asking on behalf of the country’ shit, load of shit. Let the lads get on with the job. I know they were shite, don’t need Tony to tell me.
@Ray Hyland: Completely disagree. Tony is there to be a journalist and ask serious questions. MON is there as a highly paid manager to answer for his team. …. who have just played appallingly.
@Pat Mangan: Fair enough, I just don’t think it’s constructive having such heated(and yet non specific) debate in the tunnel after a game. They say the press conferences have become more important than the matches since Keane became assistant. I reckon this showbiz baby stuff has been going on much longer. O’Donoghue is abusing his position as a senior journalist. He goes for the jugular all the time without any poise or nuance. All we needed tonight was for Dunphy to call O’Neill a bully, a la Noel King. Poor little Tony.
@Pat Mangan:
Tony is also overpaid and an RTE spoofer.
@Pat Mangan:
Tony is just an RTE hack. Can also watch on Sky!
It’s good to see Louie back all the same
Was worried about our lack of passion when I saw how few of our players bothered about even attempting to sing the national anthem. Georgian lads on other hand were belting their one out. At least Mick McCarthy used to do his best to make them sing it. Irish football has been getting away with murder as our fans have been turning up regardless, like the sing songs at 2012. But I think things might change now. No incentive to pay good money to watch that muck. And as for this lack of players thing? Nonsense. We have a huge pool of Irish qualified players all over Britain and the world along with our domestic players. Get the FAI to stop paying vast salaries to administrators and start putting in a more extensive scouting network. Lastly, we need M O Neill. Michael that is. He’s done wonders with supposedly lesser players up North.
@Valthebear: Yes we got the wrong O Neill. But Michael did bring Rovers to Europe and they sacked him.
Pure shite. A League of Ireland selection playing football would have put in a better showing then a crop of overpaid millionaire’s. Ward, Whelan, Arter, Long are very mediocre footballers and Maclean runs around like s headless chicken and is the only one with passion at least, but no skill to match fortunately. Brutal stuff and O’Neill, Keane and particularly Delaney are having a laugh with the salaries they are on.
@Patrick Lawlor: spot on with your assessment.
Passion is all very well but a lack of technical ability coupled with antiquated coaching methods from MON are a recipe for disaster.
McLean does indeed run ’round like a headless chicken–chasing shadows most of the time.His aggression usually turns ugly.
What disappoints me is the amount of analysts who think these qualities deserves man of the match accolades.
Footballers should be judged on ability and a determination to produce on a regular basis.
No point in blaming the managers when they only have donkeys to run in the Derby. Better not to qualify and save ourselves the national embarrassment and the money which the silly fans spend following them all around Europe.
@Tom Fahey:
Team was poor but you are a bigger embarrassment with that attitude!
Some ball of shite Irish soccer is in
We should have had 3 points against wales the ref disallowed a legit goal at the end were unbeaten in the group yes last night was very hard to watch i agree shocking football. We were lucky to get away with a point but still had a few clear cut chances. Home advantage on Tuesday against the Serbs and I don’t think (HOPE) we will have a stinker like that next week. World cup is still alive!!! COYBIG
@qe5000: You want to bet. O Neill and Keane are two idiots. 2 nil to Serbia and Wales to beat Ireland at home.
And they call themselves professional footballers? That was worful
The World Cup is alive but the disappointment of real fans is palpable , because you’d wonder what the point of trying to get excited about making a finals actually all about , maybe the plastic shamrock bullshit brigade don’t care but if your a fan of Irish football and have supported the team with pride watching them unable to play a game against a poor side like Georgia is painful , that the management decided against making more changes or mixing up the tactics added to the misery of the dour game , it shows we are completely winging it and out of ideas when we defer to combating a team with 70 per cent possession with the mindless tactic of hoofing the ball away , losing possession and hitting the hopeful ball over the mid field and wishing something can happen , it was poison
O Neill and the traitor have as much technical ability as two maggots. This was a won in the third minute and these two idiots sat back and did nothing. They have no ideas and the home team were very unlucky. Its time to get a proper manager.
Whelan should never have a Irish jersey again ever time he picked we go from bad worse
I suspect many of these negative comments are from rugby supporters.
@Con Murphy: Not mine. I hate the losers at that stupid game.