2016 League of Ireland.

[pateen]

Prize fund up from €315,000 to €475,000 this year supposedly.

Great to see but long over due

[Mr A]

Any word on the breakdown? Will clubs nearer the bottom of the table still be paying to be in the league?

[oriel]

If this is correct re the increased prize money to €475k, that's still a fair bit off the early to mid 00's, but then again European money since has dwarfed that.

If the 475k is correct though, its around 50% increase, that's some going, and will probably see the league champions collect €130- €150k up from the current €100k, maybe it won't be 50k more for the winners but its still an additional €160k to the overall prize fund for the league as a whole.

[Mr A]

I would hope the increase has been spread from the bottom up so we don't have clubs effectively paying to be in the league. With the European money as big as it is now it would make little sense to aim it at the top finishers.

[PartySaint]

Any word on the breakdown? Will clubs nearer the bottom of the table still be paying to be in the league?

You'd hope this means a big increase for the clubs near the bottom, think I saw before that if you finish below 4th the prize money doesn't even cover the registration fee. Absolute madness

[Mark]

Fran Gavin announced it at the launch and they've just sent out the press release:

Gavin: “I am delighted to announce that we will be increasing the prize fund for the SSE Airtricity League Premier and First Divisions by 50 per cent this season. The prize money will rise from €315,500 to €475,500 for the League. In addition we have the prize fund for the Irish Daily Mail FAI Cup, the EA SPORTS Cup and UEFA Fair Play which means our clubs will be competing for a total prize fund of €596,500.”

[pineapple stu]

What is it - €17k for a Premier Division team and €10k for a First Division team?

€284k in total. So half the prize money going straight back to the FAI. Ridiculous.

Do other leagues even charge an entry fee?

[outspoken]

What is it - €17k for a Premier Division team and €10k for a First Division team?

€284k in total. So half the prize money going straight back to the FAI. Ridiculous.

Do other leagues even charge an entry fee?

Of course they do, I've seen local league entry fees here and they are crazy. Even at the very top of the game national FA's have to pay a contribution to be members of FIFA. Only difference is of course they get something in return unlike paying money to the FAI

[pineapple stu]

I meant abroad.

So far as I know, Scottish clubs don't pay to enter the Scottish leagues for example.

[Charlie Darwin]

I'm sure some of the other smaller leagues do, but anywhere that has a modest TV deal wouldn't bother because you can just subtract admin costs from the total. It's only in Ireland it's used as a rent-seeking exercise.

[seand]

In most pro leagues you pay a fairly hefty fee for membership (I believe). It's a good 7 figures in the MLS... .but then a well run franchise in the MLS will make money.

[shizzle787]

Two questions: will you ever consider going back to a fall to spring schedule, and how many of the clubs in the league are debt free?

[nigel-harps1954]

http://www.98fm.com/LISTEN:-League-O...Season-Preview

98FM season preview.

[Mr A]

Prize money for this year as posted by Dan McDonnell on twitter:



If the premier affiliation fee is still €19k, the bottom 6 are still paying to play in the league. In the first division the bottom team will pay 12k and get 8k back. That in particular seems mental.

[nigel-harps1954]

Still a little bit top heavy in terms of money back to the clubs, but small steps forward. Hopefully another €100k can be added on next season.

[Mr A]

Edit: Was informed that affiliation fees have dropped.

17k premier and 8k first, so no one is now paying more than they receive.

Before fines and ref fees anyway

[Dodge]

Still a little bit top heavy in terms of money back to the clubs

It should be top heavy. It's 'prize' money after all. Not participation money

Anyway the increases are far, far larger (proportionally) at the bottom rather than the top

[Mr A]

The Sun lays this out: http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepa...16-season.html

Still think there was little reason to increase the prize fund for those qualified for Europe but this is a good boost for a lot of clubs.

[Charlie Darwin]

The Sun lays this out: http://www.thesun.ie/irishsol/homepa...16-season.html

Still think there was little reason to increase the prize fund for those qualified for Europe but this is a good boost for a lot of clubs.

Cork need the extra money to bridge the 80% gap to the Dublin clubs.

[oriel]

I'm not sure I agree with the point that clubs in Euro spots did not warrant increases also, I can see the point on the smaller clubs getting increases and it looks like all clubs are getting either 10k or 11.5k, however in most leagues the higher you finish the more you get.

Granted the winners will still get 110k, but I would have thought the top 2 at least would have got a little more than the 10k extra. Good news though on the affiliation fees being reduced as is the figure for the team coming last in the PD, is that 18.5k now, up from a paltry 7k?