What use are facilities without players?

Friday nights are about to become a whole lot less exciting for a legion of football fans across the country, as the League of Ireland Premier Division draws to a close on Friday night.

It has been quite an unremarkable season on the pitch yet, off it, this has been a year of progress for domestic football in this country. With attendances up virtually across the board, there is reason to be optimistic about the continued improvement of the League of Ireland product and its place in an ultra-competitive sporting environment.

From a neutrals perspective, however, it has been a largely disappointing league season in the top tier. There has been no major storyline to cling onto in terms of the title race, with Shamrock Rovers doing enough to win a fourth title in-a-row in rather unspectacular fashion. Yes, the Hoops got the job done but their tally of eleven draws – along with four losses – from 35 games so far indicates that they were not overly dominant.

Given the Hoops somewhat erratic form, there was plenty of potential for a real challenge from some of the other contenders. But the story of the title race has been Derry City’s ability to continue to trip themselves up at key moments and, while St Pat’s have made a fist of it in recent months, they’ve never truly looked like potential winners.

At the other end, the relegation of UCD was expected and you can hardly say Cork City’s struggles are a surprise either, given they only came up last year. Sligo Rovers’ season has been hugely underwhelming and, with Galway United on the way back into the Premier Division next season, the Bit O’Red will be looking around anxiously at that trap door.

Ahead of their 2-0 victory over St Pat’s on Friday night, which secured a fourth league crown in succession, the news emerged that Shamrock Rovers had recorded a threefold increase in their profits last year to €1.5million.

Unsurprising, you might say, given the resources at the disposal of the Tallaght based club, yet when you delve into the details it’s rather impressive.

The Irish Times reported that the increase was, in part, down to payments arising from academy players who have since moved on to pastures new.

“Such performance based add-ons,” the report reads, “yielded a strong revenue stream for the academy in 2022 as Kevin Zefi, who moved to Inter Milan in 2021, continued to feature regularly for their under-18s.

“Of note also was the contribution to the football club’s financial performance of the follow-on payments received for academy graduate Gavin Bazunu.” 

Given the eternal debate over the financial standing of clubs in Ireland, it’s worth noting that a number of clubs stand to benefit from legacy payments attached to deals for players who have moved on.

Evan Ferguson, who is in flying form for Brighton and Ireland, is being touted as the next €100m player and if that happens, Bohemians are set for a very tasty windfall. They’ve also benefitted from Matt Doherty’s exploits overseas.

The work of Shamrock Rovers, and indeed virtually all of the League of Ireland clubs, reflects the potential of the football industry here in this country. In defeat at Inchicore on Friday, the St Pat’s starting 11 had six academy graduates, including 16-year-old Mason Melia, who has been the subject of major interest from some of England’s top clubs.

The recent confirmation that Ireland and the UK were chosen as the joint hosts for Euro 2028 again sparked the debate about the long-term impact of such a tournament on the game in this country. Will it be a case of spending millions to hosts these matches – potentially eleven in all, split between Dublin’s Aviva Stadium and a newly developed Casement Park in Belfast – and that’s that? Or, will there be a lasting legacy that truly benefits football in this country?

That’s the crux of the matter and many cynical fans believe the former will be true, arguing the millions spent on hosting the matches would actually be better off being pumped straight into the grassroots game. It’s hard to argue with that but, of course, both things can also happen.

The FAI insist the legacy funding, of which they will receive somewhere in the region of €6million, will go towards the grassroots.

Nationally, when the debate arises around the state of the game among the League of Ireland clubs, facilities are often top of the list when it comes to criticism. In the first instance, we must acknowledge that many of the grounds used by League of Ireland clubs are sub-standard when compared to leagues of a similar stature around Europe. So there’s no question the likes of Oriel Park, Dalymount Park and Turner’s Cross need work. Several clubs, including Bohemians at Dalymount, are likely to benefit from stadium improvements in the medium term.

However, when that debate occurs now, we must also attach arguably more importance to directing funds towards coaching.

Since Brexit, there is more of an onus on League of Ireland clubs to develop players given young prospects who may have moved to the UK as young teens now have that path blocked to a large extent. This means these promising young players – potentially the next Evan Ferguson – will ply their trade here with their local clubs before maybe eventually making the trip across the Irish Sea when they reach 18 years of age.

This represents a massive, massive opportunity for clubs across the country but, at the same time, places a huge onus on them to provide top quality coaching on a regular basis.

As things stand, all clubs need more investment to ensure they can do so to ensure players reach their full potential. Therefore, when we are considering where we want money to go, we may be better served on focusing on investment into coaching.

Consider this quote from earlier this year from Shelbourne manager, Damien Duff, as food for thought.

“As much as you want the fan experience with nice toilets, having a coffee or beer, it’s academies for me,” he told the media ahead of his side’s clash with St Pat’s in mid-May.

“For me, first and foremost, it’s training grounds, full-time coaches and contact hours. Three sessions per week? Pfft, no chance.

“That’s what I’d be spending my millions on before stadiums.” 

The future of Irish football may be better served by following Duff’s advice.