Should their be a League of Ireland Development League.

**Nesta99** · 22/01/2016, 12:42 PM

The most cost effective 'solution' to the gap from underage to senior is to allow some overage players at U21 especially for players who were injured. Is Affiliation with junior clubs allowed or would it be a minefield with player registration? Dundalk have been lucky enough to be able to send some of the younger players out on loan to the likes of Warrenpoint but there has been player attrition with the former youths that are down the pecking order. Good players but their development totally stalls without game time so they move on when which is really a waste of the investment in the player made by the club. We play an awful lot of friendlies throughout the year.

**legendz** · 23/01/2016, 1:13 PM

Originally Posted by Charlie Darwin

Would be ideal to see leagues all the way from u15 to u21 and senior, but realistically the FAI has to choose which to push first and the u15s is the more pressing one.

I'd agree that an U15 league is the next step to take. It's a positive development if it is true that an U15 league is in the pipeline.

If an intermediary league is ever considered again between underage and senior level, I wouldn't entirely agree with limiting it to U21. It's a level similar to the A Championship that could be used to allow new clubs the opportunity to play-off against the bottom team in the First Division.

**legendz** · 23/01/2016, 1:34 PM

Just on the topic of development league, the Kerry hurling team have had a good progression over recent years. They won Division 2A of the hurling league two years in-a-row. To earn promotion to Division 1B, the 2A winner bizarrely have to play-off against the bottom team from 1B. Kerry lost this play-off in '14 but won last year in '15. A promotion truly earned the hard way and fully deserved.
In the hurling Championship, Kerry won the second tier Christy Ring Cup last year earning promotion to the McCarthy Cup where they will enter the Leinster qualifier group containing Offaly, Laois and Carlow, similar-ish teams of Kerry's hurling level.
It is a shame that a similar possibility of progression isn't available in the League of Ireland. I can't see it changing in the next few years. I agree that the U15 league is the next step in progression for the League of Ireland structure. At some stage though the FAI should look again at putting an intermediary league below the First Division in place.

**wonder88** · 23/01/2016, 2:43 PM

While most people consider 3 teams in Galway to have been a bad idea, it did give a lot of players from the area game time and I think allow some to have a semi/pro career which would not have happened otherwise. My own view is that a 2nd Galway based league of Ireland team could be feasible.
Not sure what this proves, if anything, but only 10% of the 17-19 age group of Bundesliga contracted players get professional contracts by the time they reach 21, and more than half are not involved in football at any level.