2022 FAI Cup

[EatYerGreens]

Ah yeah throw out the tetchy/defensive line when you've been making a flawed assessment of ticket sales based on a limited blue/grey visual graphic of a bunch of blocks that have completely uneven capacity and where there are supporters are purchasing tickets in other premium blocks. Some of those Shels blue blocks may nearly be sold out, Shels have now sold out a further 4 of their 15 blocks since your post. Also incase you were wondering there isn't one Shels fan who has been expecting us to sell more tickets than Derry

Where to start with this?

[outspoken]

FAI have announced that 20,000 tickets have bene sold so far.

Should be 25,000 or more at the game on the day

Nothing to be proud of. A half empty stadium. FAI's three year plan mentioned selling out the Aviva for cup final every year if I recall correctly. If that's the case they've got some work to do to make it happen.

In fairness to them, it was great tickets were available so early this year, I bought mine months ago. However, the overall marketing is still miles from where it needs to be. The big attendance last season was down to the club's doing Trojan marketing and PR work.

[Jd2793]

would have been a stretch to get 30k at this tbh.

[EatYerGreens]

Nothing to be proud of. A half empty stadium. FAI's three year plan mentioned selling out the Aviva for cup final every year if I recall correctly. If that's the case they've got some work to do to make it happen.

In fairness to them, it was great tickets were available so early this year, I bought mine months ago. However, the overall marketing is still miles from where it needs to be. The big attendance last season was down to the club's doing Trojan marketing and PR work.

Of the 2 clubs in the final - one is located the furthest from Dublin in the league, and the other probably has the smallest total/latent support of Dublin's 4 main clubs.

You can't hold the FAI responsible for who gets to the final.

They should have kept tickets at €10 (or at least only increased them to €15), but that wouldn't have resulted in a sell out either (and would probably have reduced total revenues from the event too).

[outspoken]

I think ye might be missing my point. FAI want sell outs over the next few years, every year, regardless who's in it. Bar selling tickets a bit earlier, what changes have they made to actively push things along?

[Jd2793]

im not sure what else they can do really. apart from a few billboards and some ads on tv/radio what else can be done? the family deal is very good. 40EURO for 2 adults + 2 kids is excellent value. ultimately a november game in a freezing cold aviva is going to be a hard sell to any neutrals IMO regardless of participants

[EatYerGreens]

I think ye might be missing my point. FAI want sell outs over the next few years, every year, regardless who's in it. Bar selling tickets a bit earlier, what changes have they made to actively push things along?

What changes are you suggesting would get 51,000 to an FAI Cup Final ? There probably hasn't been a crowd that big since the 1930s/40s (?). And it would be adding another 50% to last year's bumper crowd.

The FAI aren't magicians. Though that also underlines the vacuousness of them having 'targets' like this, which are just talk and pointless space-fillers in a 'strategy' document.

[Philosophizer]

the vacuousness of them having 'targets' like this, which are just talk and pointless space-fillers.

Exactly. Anyone taking an FAI statement literally, or even half seriously, is going to be left disappointed.
How would they fill the Aviva if the final was Cobh v Wexford? They’d be lucky to get 5K never mind 50K.
Realistically, the only way they’d fill the aviva for a cup final would be if it was Bohs v Rovers - 2 Dublin teams and the biggest derby on the island.
But even then it would probably need BOTH of them having v good seasons and challenging at the top of the table.

[brendy_éire]

I think ye might be missing my point. FAI want sell outs over the next few years, every year, regardless who's in it. Bar selling tickets a bit earlier, what changes have they made to actively push things along?

Not even that, they've actively made it more difficult to achieve their, already widely optimistic, target. Removing the final from FAI ST holders for a start, that'll knock a few thousand off. I don't understand the reasons behind that decision. Then doubling the price of a ticket. €20 is still a good price if you're a fan of a club in the final, but at €10, you'd get a lot more Dublin-based people who will just head along last minute for a day out, I would guess. €20 makes that a much harder sell.

What else could they do to improve attendance? Not too sure. Maybe work with CIÉ make transport handy? I know Translink have organised a train and some buses from Derry, but demand well outstripped supply. The GAA seem to get special trains put on fairly regularly, so it can certainly be done.
Other than that, maybe look at offering youth teams cheap/free tickets. Maybe they already do that, and it would likely only work for Dublin-based clubs.

At guess, you may have 15k Derry fans at it tops, and that's probably the limit of what we would ever take to a final. I think an overall total of 30k would represent a very good attendance, but can't see it reaching that at all.

[Kiki Balboa]

Of the 2 clubs in the final - one is located the furthest from Dublin in the league, and the other probably has the smallest total/latent support of Dublin's 4 main clubs. .

You can't be making these excuses like that. Both Derry and Shels are as well established in the League as anybody. No reason it should not be the same level as last year really.


I would say though that if you wanted a consistently high crowd for the final, you would have to rely heavily on neutral fans and make it a 'festival' type event. But even the basics aren't covered. There needs to be way more advertising of the game so that every soccer fan in the country has it drilled into their heads that this game is happening. FAI can not leave that to the clubs themselves. If both teams bring 15k (huge compared to average home gates), there would still be 25k seats that could be filled, and this is up to the FAI to fill them with neutrals.


Also, how come Shels seem to have a lower ceiling in growth compared to the other Dublin clubs? Would they be better off trying to move to back to their original home in South East Dublin, or moving with Dubliners to the suburbs in Finglas (ala Rovers and Tallaght)?

[ger121]

Also, how come Shels seem to have a lower ceiling in growth compared to the other Dublin clubs? Would they be better off trying to move to back to their original home in South East Dublin, or moving with Dubliners to the suburbs in Finglas (ala Rovers and Tallaght)?

We don’t call them “Little Old Shels” for nothing.

[TonyD]

We don’t call them “Little Old Shels” for nothing.

I have other names for them

[placid casual]

2 clubs who haven't been in the cup final in a number of years, and can possibly draw on a largeish dormant fanbase should be able to get 25-30k attendence I would have thought.

[ger121]

2 clubs who haven't been in the cup final in a number of years, and can possibly draw on a largeish dormant fanbase should be able to get 25-30k attendence I would have thought.

I think we’ll be looking at an attendance in that range based on ticket sales to-date and a week and a half left to the game.

[brendy_éire]

You can't be making these excuses like that. Both Derry and Shels are as well established in the League as anybody. No reason it should not be the same level as last year really.

Ah, you can't say that now. Two Dublin teams will almost always pull a bigger crowd than a final with a non-Dublin team. You can't just discount the six hour (minimum) travel required to attend the match from Derry, plus associated cost.

[ToberonaTornado]

I'm heading to the final and my wife is coming along to. We'll be sitting in the East stand Premium section(tix are a steal @ €35) with Derry colours on and shouting for the Candystripes!
Derry fans of old were always good friends to Dundalk back in the day when they were trying to establish themselves in the LOI and i've made some great friendships up in that part of the country over the years. Regardless of the attendance it will be a great day out.

[FTA-1895]

It's only a few years ago we were getting 600/700 in the first division and some fans boycotting. The club was in the first division for the guts of ten years and the one season we got up crowds weren't allowed at most of the games.

[nigel-harps1954]

FAI saying 25,000 tickets are sold now. 30k should be achievable now.

[Candystripe]

FAI saying 25,000 tickets are sold now. 30k should be achievable now.

That was a few days ago.

A big problem is trying to get transport to Dublin. The scramble on social media for people trying to get seats on buses is unreal.

30k would be amazing though.

[outspoken]

That was a few days ago.

A big problem is trying to get transport to Dublin. The scramble on social media for people trying to get seats on buses is unreal.

30k would be amazing though.

It would still be well down on the last couple of finals but when you think just 17k were at derrys last cup final it does show we are going in the right direction, I'd credit the club's with that as opposed to the FAI