STEPHEN BRADLEY WAS still riding a wave of euphoria after Shamrock Rovers’ latest European exploits when he spoke with sobering realism about the League of Ireland’s place at the lower end of the game’s landscape.
A Europa League play-off with Greek side PAOK was confirmed after a stunning comeback win to knock out Slovenian champions Celje on Thursday.
It guarantees the Premier Division champions a minimum of €3.87 million this season. A place in the UEFA Conference League group stages is assured at the very minimum, but should they advance in the second-tier competition that will rise to €4.31m.
Such success in Europe was needed given the club posted a loss of €2.3m for 2023.
Bradley says that Rovers have trebled their commercial and sponsorship income this season but that unless proper investment from the FAI – in terms of finance and marketing – is forthcoming League of Ireland clubs will simply get cut adrift from similar-sized countries who are developing at a far greater rate.
“It’s only going one way and if we don’t go with them, we’ll be wondering in 10 years why we’re not qualifying and why these are all ahead of us. When we go away and talk to these clubs about budgets, they can’t believe what we’re on,” Bradley said.
“There’s only one way we’re going. You just need to speak to these clubs. Look at the Scandinavians, look at the results around the Europa, Conference and Champions League. They are only going one way. We don’t compare ourselves to England because it’s a different ball game financially.
“Compare ourselves to the smaller nations because that’s where we should be aiming to get. I know it may not happen here in my time as manager but we’re just kicking the can down the road if we think we can get through while these are all increasing stadiums, increasing training facilities, increasing budgets, increasing academies and we stay the same? It’s madness, and then we’ll have a go at the Irish national team for not qualifying.
“It’s back to basics and understanding what feeds it. What’s feeding our young players now? Our academies. But they’re not funded and we have very few full time [staff]. If we’re serious about closing the gap, staying with the trend and keep moving forward, we need investment as a league as a whole.”
It was noted that on the same day as Rovers’ tie, Guinness – the new official beer of the Premier League – started a promotional campaign with Alan Shearer. The League of Ireland does not have any kind of standardised TV deal with a sole focus on the domestic game. RTÉ’s commitments are tied in with rights for international games while Virgin Media, a welcome new arrival, choose games on an ad-hoc basis.
The scraps are often well received but it’s by no means sustainable.
The minimal amounts clubs do receive are then distributed by the FAI within prize money at the end of the season.
To further emphasise Bradley’s point about how England is a different beast to the rest, take the new EFL TV deal with Sky Sports that will see close to £1 billion flow through the divisions below the Premier League.
Carlisle United, in League Two, will be guaranteed a minimum of £300,000 per year, meaning they could effectively have their pick of the best players here were money the sole focus.
“We need to build a brand to make ourselves appealing to these companies, multinational companies and especially Irish companies. But I think that’s part of the reason why as a domestic league we don’t go groups every year,” Bradley said.
“We are yo-yoing between budgets and if you do well, you can spend and if you don’t, you’re back down. We have no TV money, we have no real sponsorship. We have as a club, but as a league we don’t get anything.”
Sparta Prague, who knocked Rovers out of Champions League qualifying, have an estimated annual budget in the region of €30-40m while Celje, the Slovenian champions, is in the region of €6m. Rovers, for what it’s worth, are understood to have a playing budget for this season that is closer to one third of that.
On the same night that Rovers triumphed, St Patrick’s Athletic also reached the Conference League play-offs and will face Istanbul Başakşehir. Both clubs will be in action next week with Pat’s hosting the Turkish side at Tallaght Stadium (another example of the League of Ireland’s lack of infrastructure) on Thursday and the Hoops
As well as the usual admiring looks to the Scandinavian clubs, Bradley also highlighted investment taking place in Albania and Malta.
“If we’re serious about improving domestic football, we need to pushing the bar and striving to get better. That has to be the aim,” he said.
“I understand that not every club has the financial backing to do that but we should be backed more by the FAI and the league as a brand. We should have money coming in as sponsorship for the league and TV. We know all of this. We have spoken about this and it’s a real part of why we are playing teams and we play them two or three years later and their budget is double and we’re still the same, or less, and people say why can’t you beat them and do this and that. They have actually moved the bar and we haven’t.
“I’m not having a go at the club here. My budget is really good here and this club have been brilliant for me. I’m saying as a whole for the league and we definitely need help with that.
“We need it. You’re not going to have the league in a better place with young managers, young players, academies are our responsibility now. You’re not going to get a better opportunity to do it. I hope we do qualify for the next international tournament but if we don’t, it’ll be doom and gloom and ‘oh, what’s wrong’. It’s back to basics. The national team is our pinnacle and it will look after itself if we look after the foundations.”
