I read this letter on the brilliant Football365 Mailbox page and thought it very much worth sharing ( you mean stealing – Ed).
Very interesting, and rather harrowing summary..any Irish readers offer an opinion?..please add to comments below…
Irish Football Is Screwed
There has been much made of John Delaney’s revelation of the loan/bribe that was made to the FAI from FIFA in light of the Henry handball. However this latest scandal might be a positive in finally shining some light on the dark state of Irish Football.
Following Hull’s relegation, it currently stands that there will be no Irish born players under 23 in a premier league squad next season, a staggering statement considering some of the talent we’ve produced in the past. The Republic of Ireland are currently ranked the lowest of the British Isles sides, and last year hit an all-time low of 70th, 10 years previous they were ranked as high as 12th, and what makes that even more depressing is we’re still heavily reliant on players from 2004 like O’Shea, Keane and Given.
Many in the media seem interested in why the payment was made from FIFA to the FAI, but I would like to know where it went from there. The story we have been given is that it was a written off loan for the Aviva Stadium, a stadium half owned by the IRFU and heavily subsidized by the government, which was already finished by the time the money was transferred.
It seems none of the money has been put into Grassroots football, which is pretty much non-existent outside of Ireland’s Cities. There hasn’t been a team in my local area for over 15 years because there is no pitch and the GAA had a ban on the playing of “foreign games” on their facilities, when I did play football as a kid, I had a 20 mile drive just for my teams home games.
Even our league is a shambles, of the current 20 professional teams, many of which operate on part time basis, half are located in Dublin or neighbouring counties, for many fans of League of Ireland teams there is no such thing as a derby.
In the past 20 years 11 teams have folded from the league, when that happens in the lowest league’s in Scotland or non-league in England it sparks massive outrage, in 2012 Monaghan United decided mid-season that they simply weren’t bothered anymore and folded, Sporting Fingal were shut down in 2010 a year after qualifying for Europe, and just last year Shamrock Rovers had to field a B team just to make up the eight teams required in the first division. There is great talent in the league, players like Shane Long, Wes Hoolahan and Seamus Coleman are proof, but nothing is being done to produce more players like them.
As glad as I am that Blatter is gone, I do sympathize with the notion that he did a lot for underdeveloped footballing nations, and in this war that’s brewing between UEFA and FIFA, smaller European countries like Ireland will be the major losers in the long term.
Seán G, THFC, Cavan (I challenge anyone to name 5 League of Ireland teams without googling)
I think the article is over the top, I watch dundalk occasionally, the standard is good. They try to play in the right way and get good crowds by loi standards. Dundalk is and always will be a soccer town due to our colonial past. There are lots of pitches and there is a schoolboys league. So I wont be too worried just yet.
Football has major problems in Ireland Gaa,both hurling and football is triving,at least one of them thriving in every
Parish . Rugby since becoming professional is spreading through the island . Rugby GAA and even cricket are 32 county games . None of these sports lose15/16 year old to England and other countries like football does
Seán G, THFC, Cavan – Spurs?
There is your problem with the state of Irish football. Barstoolers who would rather watch football on TV than go to a game.
My experience differs. I grew up in Omagh, in Northern Ireland. When I was about 14 my local club, Omagh Town joined the senior Irish League, once beating the mighty Linfield in a cup final (my best football moment alongside stopping the ten). We had Ivan Sproule play for us, who of course later played for Hibs and bristol City among others. Following the Omagh bomb the team had glamour friendlies against Man utd and Chelsea, which was their downfall. The tax man put in a bill for VAT / tax on gate receipts, club didnt have the money and folded. The ground is now derelict and the town has gone ever more GAA crazy since Tyrone won the all Ireland. So soccer rose and fell in Omagh in the space of about ten years. Very sad, but outside of Linfield / Glentoran and Cliftonville no clubs really draw any crowds, and all are in thrall to EPL – Liverpool Man U and Arsenal shirts abound, even Celtic arent as popular now.
The situation was similar when I lived near Bohemians in Dublin, better but not great crowds, a general feeling of a lack of money & interest, and many more people going to the pub to watch English football than local grass roots football. The football has always been very up and at em, physical fare and little room for overly technical players, perhaps one reason the national team is one made up of hard running but technically limited players, and most witgh any potential go over to England young and if they return to League of Ireland its usually because they didnt make the grade in England, so long story short i believe the game is dying in Ireland, as rugby, gaelic and golf make inroads into those who would have played soccer mainly in the past. Sad really.
Go to any under 10s game here and listen to the shite coming from the sidelines.too much emphasis on win-at-all-cost.leagues should not be competitive til at least 13/14.too many kids being lost to the game because they’re left on the bench week in,week out,coaches that think they are in the CL,parents that hurl abuse at the opposition.and its endemic all the way through the game here.Junior clubs cant wait to pass on their ‘star’ players to English clubs,and when they dont make the grade and come back home end up in LoI.When these attitudes change,maybe then will you see the next Roy Keane or Paul mcGrath coming through.
I totally agree the game is in serious trouble in Ireland, I coach(voluntary of course) at under 13 level with the FAI Emerging Talent Programme in Roscommon (West of Ireland). The idea behind the programme is brilliant and the coaches are all very committed to the game and encouraged and supported to complete all the coaching courses. But the facilities in many areas are terrible a real after thought and totally dependant on local community fundraising with no FAI funding at all & way behind the GAA and Rugby. €5 million towards an already built Aviva stadium would have helped an awful lot of rural counties improve facilities no end.
Within that last point I meant to say as a football supporterand an Irish man I am appalled to hear that the FAI were bought off to take it on the chin and stop moaning about the blatant cheating by Thierry Henry that day in Paris. Whether €5million or €50million the result was the same everybody knew we had been blatantly cheated but the man at the top shrugged his shoulders and said tough, move along Timmy nothing to see
I would agree with the article sadly to a large degree. There are many counties including mine Carlow that have never had a LOI club so in that regard very minimal attention is given by carlow people to LOI i am rare in fact that I have an interest in Bohs travelling to Dublin for the odd game. LOI is suffering badly in terms of attention in the media and poor attendances with some clubs an admitted exception having decent gates. In regards of actual tangible talent making the grade in England that well is drying up as many who do make it are in league 1 and 2 and SPFL smaller clubs go unnoticed and not ever in line for call ups. The GAA remains the beating heart of our sporting culture and the growth of egg chasing and the breaking of its old social class reputation makes it very much now in vogue. I have attended my local college the last 4 years and there is an FAI course there but hand on heart most the lads wont make it and will likely be LOI players maybe the odd one in lower leagues of England and in Scotland. The fact we are pinning hopes on Grealish declaring is an indicator we are not producing talent capable of being of a good level. Its very disheartening and I now attend the odd game at the Aviva compared to the past. The FAI need to play a great deal more attention to the coaching and structures in the more rural counties as its now abundantly clear we are not producing people like Keane and Mcgrath etc anymore
I appreciate bung/bribes etc are the talk of the day where all things FIFA are related………………but there is a difference between individuals being given bungs to vote a particular way versus ‘out of court’ settlements between two organizations with legal agreements in place. The Ireland settlement is not anywhere near the same as a bung and cannot be taint Ireland. I can understand why FIFA would want confidentiality as it would open up the door for floods of claims if more countries though they could get something out of FIFA.
Ireland has always produced fantastic players, everything that can be done to get Ireland in good shape at all levels, must be done.
Erin Go Bragh!
The reason the FIFA witch-hunt, begun by the USA and ably abetted by the UK, who, as we know will join any rammy at the drop of a hat) is
A. Sky wants the World Cup as Pay Per View – Blatter told them to shove their PPV up their arses.
B. The US (and the UK…again) are pissed off they lost the World Cup 2018 to Russia So this exercise in naming and shaming corrupt FIFA officials is more political than anything else.
This – coming from a country who doesn’t give three hoots about Saccar.
If the US / UK Governments, The FBI / MI5 want to investigate corruption they should first turn their attentions to the banks who have left both countries and indeed the entire world in the fucking sprawling, basket-case existence where it is today.
People should always clean up their own back yard before they go knocking on their neighbours door.
As for Irish football – I couldn’t care less if it folded tomorrow. I don’t follow any of the teams and as people asked me in the past if Celtic were by some strange quirk facing Ireland in a competitive football match – i’d be in the Celtic end.
And i am a born, bred and fed Donegal man.
Terrible shame, without grass roots football there’s no hope for the semi or fulltime professional clubs or the national team, just a slow disintegration. Pity the English leagues couldn’t take an interest maybe set up some football academics, loan players etc. At the end off the day its down to the Irish people to get motivated, they are quite happy to jump on the National Teams success bandwagon when it suits them.
Ireland in the British Isles? What’s this construct you speak of? If more people supported their local team and Celtic there wouldn’t be a problem. Irish people who support Chelsea etc. I despair!
DB
Sorry old son but Ireland IS part of the British Isles as distinct from Great Britain or Britain. The former is a geographical term and the latter a political (or, as I prefer, colonial) one.
H H
PB isn’t the ‘Great’ in Great Britain also a geographical term? Referring to the biggest or main Island making the greater part of the British Isles?
Too many ‘superiorists’ hijack the word great to mean brilliant the way right wing nationalists often hijack their country’s national flag.
It’s the British and Irish Isles where I come from PB. The British Isles is a geographical term? Aren’t all names on a map geographical terms? Who wrote the map the coloniser that is who.
Desi/Seán G
Used to know a few teams when I had Setanta TV. They showed Irish games regularly and at all levels even schoolboys and schoolgirls. It was something I used to admire about the company as against BBC Scotland’s pathetic support – 2nd rate highlights of pathetic teams on Sportscene. Now there is a laugh.
I lived over in Ireland for a year or so in Co. Tip back in the 60s and I have to say I rarely saw a football match as the GAA had most kids focused on the Gaelic sports. But I admit that might have been due to my very limited experience and location. It looks like Ireland could be an excellent training ground for Regan and Doncaster or any other FA wanting to create Armageddon.
H H
Opportunity for a Celtic Ireland club to be set up? Mix of local and CFC players to establish a fantastic Celtic foothold in the. LOI, with a nod to a feeder club?
For any ROI Bhoys looking in, please pull me up if I have just made a patronising comment, it was unintentional if that’s the case.
A Cork Celtic, for example, with strong links to Glasgow, would have me (and many others) looking at the league every week and would help provide academy facilities in Ireland that could only be beneficial?
Opportunity for a Celtic Ireland club to be set up? Mix of local and CFC players to establish a fantastic Celtic foothold in the. ROI, with a nod to a feeder club?
For any ROI Bhoys looking in, please pull me up if I have just made a patronising comment, it was unintentional if that’s the case.
A Cork Celtic, for example, with strong links to Glasgow, would have me (and many others) looking at the league every week and would help provide academy facilities in Ireland that could only be beneficial?
So good I posted twice:-)
Managed to correct the typo in the second one though!
Charlie Tully came from Belfast Celtic, sounds like a good idea.
Could name you a few . Bray wanderers . ucd . St Patrick’s ath. Shelbourne. Bohemians . Shamrock rovers . All of these in Dublin area alone then cork . Derry City. Galway Utd . And league leaders drogheda utd and Dundalk need I go on ?
Hope you got my last message true league of Ireland football isn’t the best and is perhaps on a par with the lowest Scottish league division but don’t think it’s as bad as all that
Note sure it’s as bad as that, the League of Ireland has been poor as long as I’ve had an interest in a football. That hasn’t changed and won’t.
But our national team has done Ok sporadically. No reason for that to change either.
Irish kids will still play and the better ones will find a way to make it in the game, prob not in England, but maybe Scotland.
Read an article last year, am hazy on the details, but I think the Scottish league cup final last year had 5 or 6 Irish players, at least 2 from the one school boy team, Cherry Orchard
The proliferation of Sky is the problem and the solution won’t be popular. Dail could legislate a tax or charge on TV packages which broadcast foreign domestic sport, eg Sky, instead of Irish sport. The money raised from the tax could be distributed amongst Irish sports. Net result more money for Irish sport plus less EPL viewers that may choose the domestic game to get their football fiz.
Would be very unpopular as the cost is passed onto the consumer but would help keep Irish money in Ireland and not in the EPL or Murdoch’s pockets.
The FIFA ‘bribe’ looks like a typical out of court settlement, wish this was offered to Celtic when we went to court over Collins free transfer to Monaco.
That’s an interesting idea about the foreign sports tax. Could be good if Scotland did that.
Who stole our game. Is a graet book by Daire Whenlan if you can get your hands on it.
THFC. Haha Brilliant that. Says it all.
Ive being going to LOI games for over 30yrs, have heard of every excuse.
Wanna hear the best one. It was bray festival week. and the weather was too good to go to the game.
Defo a conoly thing here with the football fanatic. They seem to camare everything to England.