The current format for the League of Ireland has seen the FAI undertake the running of the league for the last two - and future three - seasons. However, given the progress the FAI claim to have initiated in the league, Chief Executive John Delaney has spoke of how important this system has been to Irish football.
"I think when we took over the league, the whole thing was to get it into shape, because I felt the league was in a real difficult place a couple of years ago. My only regret was that we didn’t get in two years earlier again," said Delaney.
Given the current wave of financially impotent Irish clubs, all the benefits the FAI claim to have brought to the league seem to be overshadowed. "We said we’d run the league, we’re all used to administration errors in the league in the past, but in the last couple of years the league has been run well from an administrative point of view, but what we said to the clubs was ‘run your own affairs’," added Delaney.
"Clearly some couldn’t run themselves as well as they should. We’ve already rejected 3 budgets that have been presented to us this year and we will [continue to] take a more rigorous approach to the budgets that are presented to us.
Delaney stopped short of saying he wished the FAI could continue their role in the future, following the conclusion of this five year system, however he was quick to stress the advancements in the last two years.
"Since we have taken over, the prize money is up, the attendances are up, the infrastructure has improved in Tallaght, Cobh, Turners Cross, Waterford, Galway and Ballybofey. We have made all these improvements.
"Self regulation doesn’t work. And that’s how the league was run in the past: 22 clubs standing around a table trying to run their own affairs. That doesn’t work. That never works. But that doesn’t mean that the clubs wouldn’t decide on a different format. But we’ll see. When the league is finished, in the next 3 years, it will be up to the clubs to decide what they want to do."
If there are still 22 clubs to make that decision in 3 years time, extratime.ie will be sure to bring you the news.
Gordon Hunt
Gordon Hunt is one of extratime's Dublin based reporters. Having worked with the site since it's inception, Gordon's name is carved into the foundations of extratime's tower block.
