Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny says facilities need to be improved at League of Ireland grounds in order to move the competition onto the next level.
There has been a bounce in attendances at the start of the new season with this Friday's Dublin derby between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians the latest early season game to sell out.
There have also been full houses at Shelbourne/St Patrick's Athletic at Tolka Park, Bohemians/Pat's at Dalymount, Derry/Shamrock Rovers at the Ryan McBride Brandywell Stadium, and Drogheda/UCD at Head in the Game Park.
For Kenny though, who had stints in charge of Longford Town, Bohemians, Derry City, Shamrock Rovers and Dundalk, the league can only grow to the next level with the provision of better facilities.
"There's been some full houses throughout the country, and that's great," said the 50-year-old.
"The facilities aren't good enough, [they're] nowhere near good enough. If the facilities were better you feel we'd get more supporters and have a better league.
"It's all linked to finance, and having better crowds, and keeping the best players - that's all part of it."
Despite being based in the UK, FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill has visited games at Tallaght Stadium and the UCD Bowl so far this season.
He says they plan to seek government help in the future to improve the experience for all supporters.
"I'm excited by the start of the new League of Ireland season," he said.
"We're seeing significant crowds going to the games, and there's a real buzz around the games. I think that's connected to what Stephen and Vera (Pauw) do with the international teams.
"All of us want to have international class facilities for the League of Ireland. We talked about it the last time we were here in relation to our strategic vision.
"It's one of our six core pillars in relation to facilities and infrastructure, not just for the League of Ireland but for grassroots and the international teams.
"But as we said then it will take some time for us to formulate our plan. Once we do we will take it to government and talk to them, along with the clubs, to make sure those facilities, and all the facilities for Stephen and all the international teams, are at the right standard that we want for progress to be made."
Having spent the majority of his life watching football in the UK supporting Leeds United, Hill has seen the improvements that have been made, and continue to be made, to grounds there.
The impetus for the change came off the back of stadium disasters involving English clubs at Heysel in Belgium, where Liverpool supporters rushed Juventus fans leading to a crush, and the subsequent deaths of 39 people.
Four years later, 97 Liverpool supporters were crushed at an FA Cup semi-final against Nottingham Forrest Hillsborough Stadium, and this led to the Taylor Report, which led to a push for all-seater facilities.
Looking at the current state of grounds in Ireland, Hill was asked about whether there were any easy fixes.
"Wifi is important for you guys (journalists) and I understand that," he added.
"We had a conversation about that, and it's just as important for our fans as well.
"The real sea change in English football came off the back of two major disasters. The investment that was made into infrastructure at that point has helped English football move forward.
"I would hope that the government, the clubs and the owners of the clubs would see that what we want to have are the right facilities that are fit for purpose for the current fans, new fans and families to come and enjoy the experience in a safe way.
"I think we all agree that we want that to happen but we all understand that it's going to need considerable investment.
"To get that investment we have to have a very clearly defined and articulated plan, and that's what we're working on at the moment."
