Professional Irish Football Clubs

[fitzknows]

How many pro clubs will be in the league next season?

I take that Bohs, Derry, Drogheda, Galway and Sligo will be operating with more or less full-time outfits.

Whats the story with Cork, Pats & Rovers?

Bray & Longford? Are there any full-time players? Any plans to go pro?

Shels & U.C.D. - Part-time outfits for the forseeable future?

[BrayUnknowns]

How many pro clubs will be in the league next season?

I take that Bohs, Derry, Drogheda, Galway and Sligo will be operating with more or less full-time outfits.

Whats the story with Cork, Pats & Rovers?

Bray & Longford? Are there any full-time players? Any plans to go pro?

Shels & U.C.D. - Part-time outfits for the forseeable future?

Bray will no be going full pro anytime soon. Our Keeper O'Connor and Striker Franco are full time players, well they don't work outside playing for us....

[pete]

All the clubs are professional, just some are semi pro & other full time pro.

90% of remaining Cork City squad are fulltime with 2-3 older players semi-pro (no one will give up his job at 30 years old just for few years of fulltime). I think a couple of last years U21 team have signed full time this year too...

[Risteard]

Are Drogs not the only club whose senior playing staff are all full-time professional?
Assuming Shels are going to start routing through the LSL.

[fitzknows]

Quote <All the clubs are professional, just some are semi pro & other full time pro.>


How does that make sense? If that's the case then the FAI's goal to have a professional top division in League of Ireland football is nonsense because it has been professional all along.

[OneRedArmy]

Quote <All the clubs are professional, just some are semi pro & other full time pro.>


How does that make sense? If that's the case then the FAI's goal to have a professional top division in League of Ireland football is nonsense because it has been professional all along.Its all in the definition of pro.

Do you define it as training every day for a couple of hours, or do you define it as football being the only source of a players income?

Also to complicate this, in Derry's case a few of the "pro" players in the latter category are full-time students doing a degree.

[Schumi]

Professional means you get paid for playing football, the opposite of amateur. The FAI seem to want full time teams.

[harry crumb]

Professionalism off the pitch is so important too.

Cork City fall be the wayside here at the moment IMO.

[number16]

We have professional players in the eircom league - i.e. people who pursue as a business sa vocation or occupation.
However, we lack professionals in the administration of the clubs and in the administration of the game at the highest level.
Players are leaving our game in droves because of the lack of professionalism all around them. These players who have gone full time are at greatest risk, because as we have seen with Shels and so many clubs before them, sustaining full time football is not feasible.

[TonyD]

Quote <All the clubs are professional, just some are semi pro & other full time pro.>


How does that make sense? If that's the case then the FAI's goal to have a professional top division in League of Ireland football is nonsense because it has been professional all along.


Now you've got it:p This is something that's pished me off for years. It's this simple - if you get paid for playing football you are professional. It's so annoying to hear people talk, for instance, about people moving to the "professional game" in England. (It's even worse to hear FAI heads start talking about a "Professional League" If they mean a full time League - then that's what they should say.) Of course there's a difference between a part time and a full time pro, but as Hooprerati said, that's a different discussion.

[Student Mullet]

Shels & U.C.D. - Part-time outfits for the forseeable future?A lot of the students are studying sports' management where the hours are pretty light so a good chunk of the UCD team (and particularly the reserve team) are as good as training full time.

[Ronnie]

We have professional players in the eircom league - i.e. people who pursue as a business sa vocation or occupation.
However, we lack professionals in the administration of the clubs and in the administration of the game at the highest level.
Players are leaving our game in droves because of the lack of professionalism all around them. These players who have gone full time are at greatest risk, because as we have seen with Shels and so many clubs before them, sustaining full time football is not feasible.

Thats a contradiction - lack of professionalism of clubs off the field does not make players leave - lack of money makes players leave, either in Shels example, or when they get the chance to earn a lot more with a British club.
One of our big problems here is spending almost the entire annual income on playing staff wages and having no money to pay people to run the clubs.

[Drogman.]

Are Drogs not the only club whose senior playing staff are all full-time professional?
Assuming Shels are going to start routing through the LSL.

Yes, Drogs players are all fulltime and also the manager, coaches, physio, etc

[galwayhoop]

Yes, Drogs players are all fulltime and also the manager, coaches, physio, etc

so are GUFC players and coaches. nearly sure physio is also

[Paddyfield]

so are GUFC players and coaches. nearly sure physio is also

Galway United also have a full time General Manager (N Leeson), a full time office manager, a part time office admistrator, a full time marketing/promotions dude and a full time salesman. There are also 'outsourced' security people who are hired on matchdays to, er, kick out schooligans and confiscate Buckfast.

[pineapple stu]

Galway's players will still be working, according to their forum (http://www.foot.ie/showthread.php?t=51095).

[BrayUnknowns]

Well the 2 lads they signed from Bray, Wes last season and Collie James this season will not be working outside of football, neither will the likes of Lester or Armstrong

[Terry]

Galway's players will still be working, according to their forum (http://www.foot.ie/showthread.php?t=51095).

working part time AFAIK.