GOVERNMENT ASSISTANCE COULD be required to improve standards across the board in the SSE Airtricity League.
That’s an opinion shared by former Ireland international Richie Sadlier and current Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny, who were discussing the current state of the domestic league while appearing as pundits on RTÉ’s coverage of the Champions League qualifier between Benfica and PAOK last night.
'Those in the corridors of power must do more' #rtesoccer pic.twitter.com/ohjflU7MMY
— Soccer Republic (@SoccRepublic) August 21, 2018
From financial problems at Bray Wanderers and Limerick to the disappointing performances of Irish clubs in European competitions this summer, the health of Irish club football both on and off the field is once again a significant talking point.
The League of Ireland remains under the stewardship of the Football Association of Ireland, but Sadlier accepts that investment from the FAI currently isn’t possible as the association continues to repay its debt from the construction of the Aviva Stadium.
“To bring standards up costs money,” Sadlier said. “The clubs will say the FAI must do more, the FAI will say the clubs should take more responsibility and someone else will say the players should improve their standards.
“I think we need to look externally because the money isn’t there in the FAI at the moment. They’ve set up financially to focus on clearing the Aviva Stadium debt, which is understandable. That’s not going to change. The money isn’t there to invest in the league, so I think you need political representation in Leinster House.
“You need investment. You need someone from there to take a big picture view, to have a vision, to pump money into the game in the hope that standards will increase. At the moment, you don’t hear it being discussed at that level. There doesn’t seem to be an appetite.”
On the back of 13 consecutive league wins, Stephen Kenny is on course to guide Dundalk to their fourth Premier Division title in five seasons. However, after eliminating Levadia Tallinn of Estonia, the Lilywhites were knocked out of the Europa League earlier this month following a comprehensive 4-0 defeat to AEK Larnaca of Cyprus.
Dundalk were the only Irish club to win a European tie this year. Derry City and Shamrock Rovers fell to Dinamo Minsk (Belarus) and AIK (Sweden) respectively. Cork City lost to Legia Warsaw (Poland) in the Champions League before seeing their Europa League hopes ended by Rosenborg (Norway) last week.
Kenny said: “There has to be vision at government level and from the county councils around the country. There has to be vision from the sports minister. There could be elite European football in Ireland on a regular basis with some real investment in infrastructure.
“Prioritising that with clubs throughout the country and we could have a very vibrant league.”
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