Kerry FC

[culloty82]

Re the discussion on the other thread, unless there is a flurry of other applications in the offing, it would seem Billy Dennehy and the KDL are hopeful of joining next season's First Division. The biggest challenge in terms of a successful licence is probably financial, as promoting an all-county team should help with marketing the new club, and competitiveness shouldn't be an issue, given a number of reasonably strong junior sides in Kerry who would comprise the panel (Killarney Celtic, Castleisland, Tralee Dynamos, Listowel and Dingle, among others).

https://www.the42.ie/fai-accept-kerry-football-clubs-application-to-enter-licensing-process-5781098-Jun2022/

[legendz]

Kerry have been committed to the underage leagues for many years. It should be the pathway for potential new clubs to emerge.

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2022/0602/1302618-kerry-fc-take-major-step-towards-inclusion-in-loi/

[NeverFeltBetter]

Feels like we've been talking about a Kerry side stepping up/being created to join the LOI for years.

Sustainability is the key, but looks like they might have a bit of cash behind them? What's Mounthawk Park like does anyone know?

[Buller]

Not bad at all to start off. With a new stand it would be perfect.

https://www.screenkerry.ie/locations/sports-and-recreation/mounthawk-park-cahermoneen-tralee

[legendz]

Feels like we've been talking about a Kerry side stepping up/being created to join the LOI for years.
Been talked about for years alright. I won't believe it until I see it.

[listowelceltic]

Hope this happens. I'd certainly support a kerry side. My only reservation is another plastic pitch in the league.

[Risteard]

I wouldn’t doubt them to be honest. What’s encouraging for me is they seem to have the right modest ambitions - a place for Kerry players to play on the national scene without having to go to Cork or Limerick. I’d be more negative if we’d some face front and centre, saying they expect to have European football/ be competing for the league in 5 or 6 years.

[Martinho II]

I believe that Billy Dennehy is strongly linked with this licence application along with some other investors. I have only being in Co Kerry once and that was in 1994. I would love to see them in it as the time is right now for them!

[culloty82]

I wouldn’t doubt them to be honest. What’s encouraging for me is they seem to have the right modest ambitions - a place for Kerry players to play on the national scene without having to go to Cork or Limerick. I’d be more negative if we’d some face front and centre, saying they expect to have European football/ be competing for the league in 5 or 6 years.

Yes, basically, the idea is that the squad would be largely based around the present U19 side, topped up with anyone interested in the KDL and any existing Kerry players in the LoI, such as Gary O'Neill. In that regard, the priority would simply be sustainability, and building up rivalries with other Munster teams, so eventual promotion would be nice but not essential. Have heard that Carlow-Kilkenny might also be interested in joining?

[kksaints]

Yes, basically, the idea is that the squad would be largely based around the present U19 side, topped up with anyone interested in the KDL and any existing Kerry players in the LoI, such as Gary O'Neill. In that regard, the priority would simply be sustainability, and building up rivalries with other Munster teams, so eventual promotion would be nice but not essential. Have heard that Carlow-Kilkenny might also be interested in joining?

https://scoreline.ie/potential-loi-club-possibly-coming-to-kilken-oh-its-kerry/

Article from the local radio station in Kilkenny. Looks like a Women's team in the WNL is more likely in the next 2-3 years.

[nigel-harps1954]

Not bad at all to start off. With a new stand it would be perfect.

https://www.screenkerry.ie/locations/sports-and-recreation/mounthawk-park-cahermoneen-tralee

It's not a million miles away from being a decent First Division ground.

The completely open nature of that stand, with no fence or wall between the pitch and the seating is a bit strange.

Can't tell from any photos or videos I can see, but is there any other terracing in around the ground?

[nr637]

Lot of work needed on Mounthawk Park, if that current stand was extended the full length of the pitch on one side would be sufficient for the First Division. If all goes according to plan, I reckon that the Kerry setup have arrangements in place to bring their facilities up to a standard for the league when they get the official go ahead!

[Nesta99]

Hope this happens. I'd certainly support a kerry side. My only reservation is another plastic pitch in the league.

I get why people dont like artificial turf but there are a whole lot more things to have reservations about than another playable and approved playing surface in the league.

Would there genuinely be a cross county following eg people travelling from Killarney/Tralee/Listowel etc to one ground, support a one trying to fit all set up? Im not being skeptical, just interested in whether it could really have such county wide appeal. Even in GAA circles if one club has more players at county level it grinds the gears of other clubs. I think it was a mistake when Kildare County tried for wider community support rather than be parochial as Newbridge eg. Maybe the bigger the county the less rivalry there is between the (urban) areas so could work better than a Kildare. There is no shortage of people in Louth that would prefer some mutual destruction of their North/South Louth based club or sport than collective county development. Louth GAA insisted for years on quotas of players being selected from North/Mid/South Louth rather than the strongest panel - I think other sports would have been the same if there was a county representative side. Imagine suggesting Galway County FC or a Galway United with 2 or 3 clubs involved......Would it be different in Kerry or will integration at underage and womens game done over so much time be the difference?

[listowelceltic]

Hard to know on the crowds. When kerry u21s joined the eircom league there were roughly 1500 at opening game against Waterford in mounthhawk Park but attendances dropped after that and that was a good kerry team.
Nesta you would know more about artificial pitches than I do but any game I've watched on them is dreadful with players struggling to control the ball.

[legendz]

The current playing surface allows many more games to be played in that ground. Nothing wrong with it.

[Kiki Balboa]

Excited for this. Hopefully the football community in Kerry can come together to support the team, and they are able to establish themselves in League. Do they were green and white hoops? Or do they have different colours?

It is very difficult for new clubs (well really all clubs) to establish themselves and create a fanbase/ supporters structure though. Most clubs at this stage have been 'grandfathered' into the local community. I think the majority of fans had their first taste of LOI as a kid, and would have personally known a regular attender even before they came to the ground. In the regional towns without LOI, that habit is just not there.

LOI seasons are a slog (compared to every other sports in Ireland) and take a lot of commitment. Creating a fanbase with a habit of going bi-weekly once the novelty wears off is extremely difficult and is a multi-generational project (although for us fans, its very rewarding). Maybe that is why it is easier to 'promote' an existing team rather than creating a brand new team as you would have more people already giving that commitment to the existing team, like Newbridge Town, rather than to a new entity of Kildare County.

In saying that, I hope too that other regional areas can get an LOI team, be it from the established underage LOI-Teams or established Junior teams. I think its healthy for football in the country, and generally good for those areas.

[culloty82]

This is the shirt worn by the underage teams, so the senior club would presumably wear the same:

https://www.kerrydistrictleague.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Junior-Ankomah-website-768x960.jpg

[Nesta99]

Hard to know on the crowds. When kerry u21s joined the eircom league there were roughly 1500 at opening game against Waterford in mounthhawk Park but attendances dropped after that and that was a good kerry team.
Nesta you would know more about artificial pitches than I do but any game I've watched on them is dreadful with players struggling to control the ball.

They certainly can be unforgiving and poor and overhit passes, are less disguised and poor control and technique can be more obvious especially if the pitch isnt brushed and watered. Nothing will top a well maintained grass pitch, but a well maintained artificial is better than a poor grass pitch. Familiarity with the surface type is a help and I doubt any club wont have access to train of 4G prior to games in Dundalk and Derry. The pitch that seems to have been struggled with most so far this season is in The Showgrounds, and turned what could have been games full of quality in to more longball and head tennis. It is what t is though and part of why we play home and away having to cope with the varying types and quality of pitches.

[culloty82]

More info from The Kerryman about the American backing for the plans:

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/kerry-football-club-founders-our-love-for-the-game-was-born-locally-we-now-want-to-give-that-back-41714875.html

[legendz]

The First Division is more interesting these days with the playoffs keeping a lot more teams "active".

[Nesta99]

More info from The Kerryman about the American backing for the plans:

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/news/kerry-football-club-founders-our-love-for-the-game-was-born-locally-we-now-want-to-give-that-back-41714875.html

Run if there is a suggestion that the new club be called Atlantic Ocean FC!

[EatYerGreens]

This is the shirt worn by the underage teams, so the senior club would presumably wear the same:

https://www.kerrydistrictleague.ie/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Junior-Ankomah-website-768x960.jpg

Decent shirt. Incorporating the Kerry GAA county colours would be wise IMO.

Though the crest on there look s a bit crap, so hopefully they'll have a new one.

I personally would prefer Tralee Dynamoes, as it would anchor the club more in a particular community and I think would realistically lose very little support vs a 'county' club. Though it would be a great to see a Kerry team nonetheless and I'd definitely head to see a game there.

[legendz]

Decent shirt. Incorporating the Kerry GAA county colours would be wise IMO.

Though the crest on there look s a bit crap, so hopefully they'll have a new one.

I personally would prefer Tralee Dynamoes, as it would anchor the club more in a particular community and I think would realistically lose very little support vs a 'county' club. Though it would be a great to see a Kerry team nonetheless and I'd definitely head to see a game there.Your shout for Tralee Dynamos is understandable for an outsider. A club that is representative of the county is the right approach for Kerry. For another county or region it might be different.
Carlow & Kilkenny and Cavan & Monaghan are Monaghan are probably examples of counties who can work together if they make an application to join the league of Ireland in the future. Lay the foundations at youth level and build up from there

[EatYerGreens]

Hard to know on the crowds. When kerry u21s joined the eircom league there were roughly 1500 at opening game against Waterford in mounthhawk Park but attendances dropped after that and that was a good kerry team.
Nesta you would know more about artificial pitches than I do but any game I've watched on them is dreadful with players struggling to control the ball.

How long were they in the U21 league for, and when did they join the U17/U19s ?

[placid casual]

Would love to see a LOI team from Kerry competing-question is would there be a fanbase there, or the opportunity to build a fanbase? There's no point otherwise, imo.
An away trip to Kerry... Jaysis you'd be banjo'ed on the bus with that journey!! 😁 🚌🍺🍺🍺

[nigel-harps1954]

Don't see any reason they couldn't build a fanbase. Tralee is bigger than the likes of Sligo, Athlone, Wexford or Castlebar. Ground isn't exactly town centre, but it's not Longford or Wexford distance out of town either.

If it's marketed properly from the start, there's no reason a ~1,000 average crowd couldn't be attainable straight off the bat.

[EatYerGreens]

Don't see any reason they couldn't build a fanbase. Tralee is bigger than the likes of Sligo, Athlone, Wexford or Castlebar. Ground isn't exactly town centre, but it's not Longford or Wexford distance out of town either.

If it's marketed properly from the start, there's no reason a ~1,000 average crowd couldn't be attainable straight off the bat.

If they got 1,500 to their first U21 league game then that suggests that there is an appetite in the area. There would obviously need to be a lot of work done over a prolonged period of time to attrcat and retain supporters, but if you've got that to an underage game with presumably no away fans involved then it's definitely something to build on.

[sadloserkid]

There was a big crowd at Kildare County's first competitive game too - a 2-0 win (I think, from memory) against then League Cup holders Limerick in a First Division Shield game. The novelty of a first game isn't so relevant to the long-term potential of a club. I was in Mounthawk Park for a couple of Kerry League U-21 games against Limerick and there probably wasn't more than 20-30 people watching and, as someone else noted above, they had some handy enough sides back then too.

I'd be delighted to see them in the League though, Tralee Dynamoes should have been given a shot when they wanted in (with FC Carlow) and there's no doubt Kerry could be a place where senior football could establish a place. Best of luck to them anyway!

[legendz]

The 1500 crowd is a realistic expectation of realistic potential. A community club for the county, with membership and a good relationship with the KDL, and all clubs is key.
The local media are good at getting behind local teams. Any new club will target challenging for the playoffs after a couple of seasons.

[pineapple stu]

There was a big crowd at Kildare County's first competitive game too
Ditto Cabinteely - didn't they beat Wexford at home in front of almost 1000 people in their first game I think?

If they end up being lower half of the First Division, the crowds will dwindle fairly quickly. It's the wrong way to go about bringing clubs into the league, but best of luck to them anyway. Sounds a decent away trip too.

[culloty82]

Certainly, looking at how Athlone have struggled in the First this season, expectations will have to be realistic, but such is the set-up of the division that even finishing fifth gets you into a play-off, which mightn't be likely in the first season, but is something which can be targeted every second or third year.

[legendz]

Wexford 6th and Bray 7th are still in contention for the playoffs. It at least keeps more teams actively involved, when 9th or 10th has no jeopardy at this time.

[culloty82]

Interesting to listen to the Billy Dennehy interview on the LoI Central podcast - very realistic in accepting that First Division results could be fairly punishing initially if accepted, as they would be completely amateur at the beginning, but that the aim is to secure enough community backing that the club would be permanently self-sustaining:

https://podcasts.apple.com/ie/podcast/loi-central-s06e16-with-billy-dennehy/id1203897883?i=1000565574709

[culloty82]

A press conference will be held for the local media today at 4 - ironically, the two local papers are published on Wednesday and Thursday, meaning they will only have the details next week, but doubtless Kerry FC will cover it on its Twitter page. As well as KDL officials, the director of the League of Ireland and the facilities officer of the FAI will be in attendance, as will Brian Ainscough of Kerry FC.

[legendz]

A press conference will be held for the local media today at 4 - ironically, the two local papers are published on Wednesday and Thursday, meaning they will only have the details next week, but doubtless Kerry FC will cover it on its Twitter page. As well as KDL officials, the director of the League of Ireland and the facilities officer of the FAI will be in attendance, as will Brian Ainscough of Kerry FC.The local papers will have a few days to get all the details they need, before they are probably distracted with a match in Dublin on Sunday.

[CorribsideSteve]

Will clubs local clubs in eg Castleisland, Killarney become feeder clubs for Kerry FC? Or will there be an integrated liason with all the local clubs for producing players etc. If they were to become established as a mid-table 1st Division side, they could draw crowds from parts of South and West Limerick that are closer to Tralee than Limerick City for potential new fans. Tralee's also a lovely town for a day trip. The Sligo of the Southwest. I really hope they are a success. Potential new rivalry with Treaty, another small, and relatively new club.

[Kingdom]

Will clubs local clubs in eg Castleisland, Killarney become feeder clubs for Kerry FC? Or will there be an integrated liason with all the local clubs for producing players etc. If they were to become established as a mid-table 1st Division side, they could draw crowds from parts of South and West Limerick that are closer to Tralee than Limerick City for potential new fans. Tralee's also a lovely town for a day trip. The Sligo of the Southwest. I really hope they are a success. Potential new rivalry with Treaty, another small, and relatively new club.

The Sligo of the Southwest - pfffft.

Football has always been big in Tralee. And Tralee people have always attended good, well-organised local sports events in numbers.

My only fear for Mounthawk is that its out of the town, and the facilities are ****e for the type of weather that seems to beat Tralee down with on 300+ days of the year.

My dream would be that at some stage they could use ASP as a home ground.

KDL jersey has always been nice. And the Kerry county crest - not to be confused with the GAA one - is lovely. It's ripe for a football jersey.
If it's a local team, the crowds will be solid, and a local team that can perform decently will get good support. Just look at the numbers the tralee basketball side is bringing in, consistently, through a good venue, great events team and sensible policies.

[culloty82]

There was a change in procedure with the underage teams this year, as they had been under the control of the Kerry Schoolboys League up until now, but the KDL itself then took over the administration. As for how the adult team would work, one would imagine there would be a open trial for the first season, inviting interested players from around the county to participate - the KDL have said that the option will be there for everyone to choose either national or purely recreational football, so more along the lines of the liaison option, I suspect. As you say, they'll need to attract support from all over the county to be sustainable in the medium to long term, but there already appears to be buy-in from the individual clubs, which seems the toughest hurdle in that regard.

[CorribsideSteve]

The Sligo of the Southwest - pfffft.

Football has always been big in Tralee. And Tralee people have always attended good, well-organised local sports events in numbers.

My only fear for Mounthawk is that its out of the town, and the facilities are ****e for the type of weather that seems to beat Tralee down with on 300+ days of the year.

My dream would be that at some stage they could use ASP as a home ground.

KDL jersey has always been nice. And the Kerry county crest - not to be confused with the GAA one - is lovely. It's ripe for a football jersey.
If it's a local team, the crowds will be solid, and a local team that can perform decently will get good support. Just look at the numbers the tralee basketball side is bringing in, consistently, through a good venue, great events team and sensible policies.
I was being slightly facetious about the Sligo comment, though I think both are lovely towns.
Kerry get's as much wind and rain as Galway does, so I can see that argument. Is it very far from the town centre, Mounthawk?
Speaking of ASP, that'd be a great venue long-term. Right in the heart of the town.

[culloty82]

Certainly not as central as ASP, about 1-2 miles out from the town centre, on the outskirts really, but Mounthawk is the main approach point of the roads from Fenit, Ardfert, Ballyheigue (first two have become commuter villages to Tralee, and the last in North Kerry), which lessens the risk of it becoming a Tralee-only affair.

[legendz]

ASP is a great location. Alas not going to be. Mounthawk Park is the home of Kerry football. Everyone involved in the KDL is familiar with it. The youth teams play there. Just have to cut the cloth to work with what is there.
The main stand in the Markets Field is for one half of the length of the park. Mounthawk Park is the same. It is what it is.
If Kerry FC can become established, there will be a fair argument for funding of ground improvements at both local and national level.

[culloty82]

Some coverage of the press conference by Final Whistle, even if it later tails off into a potted biog of Denbehy:

https://www.finalwhistle.ie/soccer/dennehy-targets-clear-football-pathway-for-kerry-natives/

[culloty82]

And local sports reporter Murt Murphy with a comprehensive piece in the Examiner:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40901777.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

[legendz]

And local sports reporter Murt Murphy with a comprehensive piece in the Examiner:

https://www.irishexaminer.com/sport/soccer/arid-40901777.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter"they are confident that Kerry FC will be granted a license in November that Kerry FC will be playing League Ireland soccer on Friday nights in February 2023."
If Kerry are in the League of Ireland next February, it'll be 15 years after knocking Waterford out of the League Cup, in a penalty shootout.

[culloty82]

The nagging concern is that it's still unclear as to what levels of funding are being made available, even if the initial aim would be to keep the budget as tight as possible for a First Division club:

https://www.independent.ie/regionals/kerryman/sport/soccer/kerry-fc-director-of-football-billy-dennehy-says-club-will-recruit-local-talent-rather-than-investing-heavily-on-outside-players-41783706.html

[C E Mc]

I really hope so. Given the population amd good Junior sides, Kerry will make a great addition to the LOI. Best of luck!

[culloty82]

Season tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks, which seems to be putting the cart before the horse, but presumably is aimed to feed into the licencing process by showing both demand and potential revenue:

http://traleetoday.ie/season-tickets-for-kerry-fc-games-expected-to-go-on-sale-within-weeks/

[legendz]

Season tickets will go on sale in the coming weeks, which seems to be putting the cart before the horse, but presumably is aimed to feed into the licencing process by showing both demand and potential revenue:

http://traleetoday.ie/season-tickets-for-kerry-fc-games-expected-to-go-on-sale-within-weeks/
Athlone had a season ticket price of €150. Treaty had a €170 season ticket and have a membership price of €240. Members get a discount on season ticket. It should be a guide for Kerry FC pricing.

[EatYerGreens]

I'll definitely take in a game in Tralee, with a night tacked on as well. I imagine a lot of people around the league would be up for it too. Obviously they'll need to build their own support locally, but I would think they'll get decent enough away visits for the first season or so anyway.

[sbgawa]

100% for me, night out in tralee beckons, hopefully we get them in the cup