breakingnews.ie

[Sheridan]

Do you not think that the clubs and the FAI are in anyway to blame?

Well yeah, but that's a separate issue, innit? The English FA is almost as bad, and it doesn't seem to affect the popularity of the game there. The difference is media-driven promotion (and the fact that England is actually a football/sporting country.)

[Jim Smith]

Well yeah, but that's a separate issue, innit? The English FA is almost as bad, and it doesn't seem to affect the popularity of the game there. The difference is media-driven promotion (and the fact that England is actually a football/sporting country.)

It not that separate an issue. Most smaller football clubs just haven't moved with the times. I'm not sure about England's premireship but the SPL is distinct from the SFA and does what's best for the SPL rather than what's best for Scottish football. Most of the smaller clubs are just desperate to survive.

Isn't football the most popular participation sport in Ireland which would make Ireland a football/sporting country too?

[dahamsta]

Do you not think that the clubs and the FAI are in anyway to blame?

Precisely. I'd attribute a very large majority of the blame to the clubs and the FAI. As to the media, if I was a sports editor I think I'd find it very hard indeed to justify resources to eL coverage given the quality of league as compared to it's primary opponent over here. I won't get into the quality of the game because I'd be painting myself into a corner, but the professionalism of both the league managers and the club managers leaves an awful lot to be desired. The Premier League section of the FAI website alone is an embarassment.

adam

[pete]

Isn't football the most popular participation sport in Ireland which would make Ireland a football/sporting country too?

I believe that is true. GAA may claim more members of clubs but football would have a lot of 5-aside people 'n stuff...

I also heard Dublin has most football clubs per european city & that may not even be on per capita basis. Probably helped by lot of small clubs with few facilities.

[Schumi]

I believe that is true. GAA may claim more members of clubs but football would have a lot of 5-aside people 'n stuff...

I also heard Dublin has most football clubs per european city & that may not even be on per capita basis. Probably helped by lot of small clubs with few facilities.

There was something in the Herald a while back saying that there was 13,000 people playing football in Dublin compared to 4,000 playing GAA.

[gspain]

The GAA have more members than the F.A.I. (don't really have the concept but players really) because

1) They cover 2 sports

2) Allow for clubhouse drinking members who don't play.

3) Cover the whole island - IFA cover football in Northern Ireland

However football is far and away the most popular participant sport in this country. This has been the case since before 1986. Take a look at the Herald and all the leagues and games played every weekend at adult and schoolboy level.

Unfortunately most football players go the pub to watch Sky Sports rather than to our domestic league. Hence GAA is by far the biggest spectator sport in the country.

Even in NI where the GAA excludes almost 60% of the population they still get better attendance figures than football or rugby.

Ask anybody here what team they support and you will get Man Utd Liverpool et al in most cases - not Shelbourne or Cork City or Munster or Kerry gaelic team or even Clonliffe Harriers or Muckross.

[Bluesky]

With regard to EL coverage it might be useful to compare with the GAA (a purely local product) rather than the global media phenomenon of the premiership.

Very noticeable in recent years the increasing number of GAA jerseys on the streets compared to EL. Possibly my imagination but I would link this to the increasing number of live GAA championship matches.

The big difference I see between the codes is marketing. The GAA has proper sponsors who have been able to market the games as heroic events of epic proportions-in comparison the eircom mouse is literallly a pantomime joke.

In short I blame the Merrion Squares and their sponsors for the general lack of interest in the league

[Sheridan]

As to the media, if I was a sports editor I think I'd find it very hard indeed to justify resources to eL coverage given the quality of league as compared to it's primary opponent over here. I won't get into the quality of the game because I'd be painting myself into a corner, but the professionalism of both the league managers and the club managers leaves an awful lot to be desired. The Premier League section of the FAI website alone is an embarassment.

Well, I've said my piece, but I just wanted to jump in here for a sec. The quality of football on offer has nothing to do with its popularity in any given constituency. If it did, Irish viewers wouldn't be so fixated with the Premiership, a league manifestly inferior to those in Spain and Italy. If anyone seriously doubts that quality/stature is not the primary criterion by which football is judged amongst casual supporters, all they need do is reflect on TV3's broadcasting of a meaningless Champions League fixture between Manchester United and Macabbi Haifa several years ago, on a night when half-a-dozen more intriguing games were taking place across Europe, and the fact that uproar would have resulted had they decided to screen one of the latter.

Additionally, bear in mind that many non-league clubs in England play to larger attendances than clubs of a higher (or equivalent, if you want to take the barstool line) footballing standard in this country. The quality of football has nothing to do with it. It's about, to use the hideous Americanism, brand loyalty. And brand loyalty, in football as in marketing, is a by-product of media-driven promotion.

[dahamsta]

I never said anything about the quality of the game, in fact if you read my post you'll see that I specifically set it aside to cover the business aspect of the game. I think we'll leave it at that, I'm an old man with very little energy for tangential debate these days.

adam

[Éanna]

Well, I've said my piece, but I just wanted to jump in here for a sec. The quality of football on offer has nothing to do with its popularity in any given constituency. If it did, Irish viewers wouldn't be so fixated with the Premiership, a league manifestly inferior to those in Spain and Italy. If anyone seriously doubts that quality/stature is not the primary criterion by which football is judged amongst casual supporters, all they need do is reflect on TV3's broadcasting of a meaningless Champions League fixture between Manchester United and Macabbi Haifa several years ago, on a night when half-a-dozen more intriguing games were taking place across Europe, and the fact that uproar would have resulted had they decided to screen one of the latter.

Additionally, bear in mind that many non-league clubs in England play to larger attendances than clubs of a higher (or equivalent, if you want to take the barstool line) footballing standard in this country. The quality of football has nothing to do with it. It's about, to use the hideous Americanism, brand loyalty. And brand loyalty, in football as in marketing, is a by-product of media-driven promotion.

I knew I'd agree with you on something eventually sheridan very well said

[A face]

* Conclusion : Breaking News dont cover enough eL football



Now




Someon else point another media body/group .... and we'll see what result we get !!

Or maybe .... if we pick a club aswell !!

[Jim Smith]

It's about, to use the hideous Americanism, brand loyalty. And brand loyalty, in football as in marketing, is a by-product of media-driven promotion.

While brand loyalty is a part of it there is more. I grew up in Ayr and to me its unthinkable that I'd support another Scottish team. Now Ayr United are not well marketed and, although it pains me to say it, they aren't quite the force they used to be. Now, I rarely get to see them play but they are a part of me and if they were ever playing CCFC I'd have no doubt who I'd be cheering on

Its tribalism based on being born into a tribe rather than choosing a tribe and this is what is strangley absent in the greater Irish football watching public. The GAA have this 'locality loyalty' (OK now I'm making up phrases) in spades and, from what I can gather, always have. How many Kerry people would follow Kilkenny in a hurling match (the gluf between the eL and the Premireship is about the same, isn't it?)....

I must admit I find this particularly strange in Cork as Corkonians get very defensive about everything and anything to do with Cork with the exception of domestic football.

I suppose what we should be asking is what broke the most basic of brand loyalties where domestic football is concerned and I feel that it must have taken more than just a slick marketing campaign on the part of Sky. Having said that the only people who can win back the loyalty are the clubs and the FAI - and at least some of the clubs seem to be getting there act together. I actually think things are getting better, certainly over the last 10 years that I'e been watching football here.