Eircom League Focus

By Shane Murray

The issue of attendances has long proved a contentious one amongst fans and administrators alike since the switch to summer football.

Around the country, opinion is divided on whether the switch has had a positive or negative effect, but the FAI are insistent that attendances are on the rise and that the product on show is improving year-on-year.

After six weeks, official figures were released with typical gusto; 37% increase on the same period last year; almost 100,000 through the gates at 66 matches; an average attendance of 1,480 (up from 1,079 in 2006).

After 13 rounds, the official average attendance as issued by the FAI for both divisions is 1,253 for the 150 matches, a healthy 29.31% increase on the same stage in 2006, when an average of 969 watched 124 games.

I'd also agree emphatically with the FAI's belief that the product has improved, both on and off the pitch.

Unofficial figures posted on Foot.ie also suggest this trend has continued with numbers up at all but two clubs in the Premier Division, namely Derry City and Sligo Rovers.

Derry are a shadow of their title-challenging 2006 vintage and have experienced a minor fall-off in numbers as the club struggles for consistency.

However, the Candystripes' form should improve once a permanent successor to Pat Fenlon is appointed, and there is no doubt the more hesitant of the City faithful will return to the Brandywell once normal order is restored on Bogside.

The story is not quite so simple for Sligo.

A crowd of 5,000+ saw them draw with Derry in last season's FAI Cup semi-final.

An average attendance of 1,800 saw them ranked third in the league's unofficial attendance table in 2006.

But that figure appears to be falling dangerously close to 1,000 with the season just a third of the way through.

While success on the pitch naturally breeds interest and appeal, Rovers' form, home form in particular, hasn't been bad and they are just seven points behind third placed Bohemians.

The switch to summer football, coupled with the investment by the FAI and the clubs in a designated marketing and promotions officer, was expected to lead to significant increases through the turnstiles.

However, many clubs are down large numbers on 2004, with Cork (4,000-3,500), Longford (1,130-680) and Waterford (1,750-1,250) all showing a significant overall drop in attendances in the three years.

The figures, again, are unofficial, but given the lack of official numbers from the clubs and a haphazard approach to ticketing at many grounds, it is hard to come by official, accurate figures.

I know St Pat's, UCD and Cork have published figures which would back up those on Foot.ie, but any official club details would be gratefully accepted here.

So while attendances may be up on 2006, the evidence suggests we're still playing catch-up to previous years.

When you think that 20,000+ regularly attended League of Ireland matches back in the league's heyday, it makes even more startling reading.

So why the fall-off, where one exists?

As I know Sligo, I'll use their situation as a starting point for explaining this, but factors at play in the north-west are prevalent throughout the country and relate to most, if not all, of the league's 22 senior members.

Firstly, as I've mentioned already, success is a key factor in enticing fans through the turnstiles. If you've a winning team on the pitch, chances are you've a healthy number following the team.

And vice versa, if you have an unsuccessful team, then it will prove more difficult to attract an audience, with Longford being a prime example of this: buoyant crowds as they established themselves as perennial cup specialists and a significant fall-off once leaner times were upon it.

Secondly, there is intense competition for people's attention and euro these days, and with greater choice on offer, expectations of what constitutes an evening's entertainment have risen.

No longer will an armchair football fan put up with mediocre facilities and mediocre fare for his €10-€15, the average price of a ticket these days.

The modern day football fan is a much more discernable creature, who expects to be entertained in an environment boasting a modicum of comfort and safety.

Why pay €15 for 90 minutes of football in the wind and the rain when you can catch the latest Hollywood release on cushioned seats, in a heated auditorium, with popcorn and pop in hand?

It's also a damn sight easier to lure a partner to the latest offering from Pitt, Clooney or Cruise than to convince her/him of the talents of Heary, McCourt and O'Donovan, however great they may be!

Thirdly, sport around the country, at all levels, is at competition with itself.

As the summer progresses, County Championships the length and breadth of the country build momentum, with players and fans of all sporting codes torn between two, sometimes three, or dare I say it, sometimes more, lovers.

In Cork, in Galway, in Sligo, men, women and children must regularly make a decision on where their evening will be spent: at The Cross, Terryland or The Showgies, or playing, managing or supporting at their local GAA club? 

This, generally, wasn't the case in the days before summer football, where the climax of one Championship season heralded the dawn of the following League of Ireland campaign.

However, this is the reality of it for most fans of GAA and Irish football now, and despite the increased harmony and co-operation between the FAI and the GAA, their respective investments in grass roots development suggests they are both fully aware of the importance of establishing a preference at an early stage.

Then there is the cost. Take a typical, sports-mad father of three. On any given weekend, he could have an eircom League match on a Friday night, a Club Championship tie on the Saturday evening and, if he's lucky enough, a provincial semi-final/final on the Sunday.

If he's fortunate/unfortunate (delete depending on your viewpoint) enough to have a wife interested in all three, then between them, they are likely to spend anywhere from €100 to €250 on a weekend's sporting entertainment.

This is a conservative estimate, taking into account ticket prices, petrol, food and drink.

If a game was at Croke Park and a trip from outside of Dublin was needed, you could add substantially to the latter figure.

Fourthly, there are also other factors to be considered: the thousands that cross the Irish Sea to follow English and Scottish sides from March-May and August-November; the impact of the Community Games, golf, holidays, stag parties and other personal commitments. Or if the weather is good, an impromptu BBQ or just another hour or two at the beach in Rosses Point, Salthill or Kinsale?

All the marketing men in the world could not compete with those!

Away fans are also are hurt by midweek and Friday evening fixtures as they may find it difficult to get off work, so maybe reverting to a Saturday/Sunday afternoon kick-off should be looked at during the Premiership off-season? 

League Promotions chief Noel Mooney is heading for Sligo next month for a week-long think-tank to look at ways of increasing attendances, so hopefully something good will emerge from that.

Another age-old issue to resurface in recent weeks is that of midweek fixtures in the First Division.

Now while the Premier Division has embraced a largely professional ethos and the majority of leading players are no longer rushing from offices, factories and appointments to make training and kick-offs, the First is not so lucky.

Reality dictates that clubs like Monaghan United, Cobh Ramblers, Wexford Youths and Limerick 37 could not sustain a full-time set-up in their current form and, as such, players must supplement a modest income from football with full or part-time employment elsewhere.

Limerick boss Paul McGee hit out last week saying that midweek fixtures were crippling First Division clubs after his side faced an FAI Cup replay against Wexford on Tuesday.

Speaking in the Irish Independent, McGee said: 'We're all part-time and it is difficult to get players off work for midweek games. We've been on a break so lads were on holidays, then they return and straight away have to ask for a half-day, at least, from work. We also have to travel to Dundalk next Tuesday, probably a day off for most lads, and that's a serious problem for anybody with a day job.'

McGee makes a valid point, one that many of his rival managers would echo, and it seems odd that the FAI still persist with midweek games in the First Division.

Yes, significant developments have been made on the marketing and administration side of things, but there's a long way to go before the FAI's vision of an established, full-time, profitable, integrated club structure is realised.

Finally, I'd like to congratulate Cork's finest, Douglas Hall, on their spectacular 4-1 victory over local First Division title challengers Cobh Ramblers in the FAI Ford Cup. Not only were the Munster Senior League team impressive winners on the pitch, but CJ Harrington's men also pocketed a euro or two after profiting from some generous odds at a local bookie.

Cork's other team, Cork City, should also be congratulated on another fine foray on foreign soils with a 2-0 win over Valur of Rekyavik in the Intertoto Cup. Swedish or Faroe Islands opposition await Damien Richardson's men should they dispose of Valur at Turner's Cross, and their chances of further progress will be boosted by the protracted availability of midfielders Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly.

They currently lie just eight points adrift of leaders Drogheda, with one game in hand, so they could still be worth a cheeky euro or two for the title.

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