I didn't know this game was on. They will need to do better promotion for the remaining fixtures.
1-0 Roma now, just past the hour.
Worth noting Roma won their first round tie 9-1 on aggregate (against APOEL). Plenty of big scores in the first round in fact, so still a very impressive showing from Cork overall.
I didn't know this game was on. They will need to do better promotion for the remaining fixtures.
What remaining fixtures?
Result now.
Sounds like a great performance, and a great experience too.
Touch wood we get in next year and can match that.
It's by no means certain we'll qualify; in fact, it's odds against.
The LoI is ranked lower than last year, when Cork qualified. We're 41st, and 41st did get through this time, but it didn't the previous year.
We were 40th this year. Lichenstein don't get a place. I could be wrong but it looks like Ireland are roughly 35th for next year.
It goes off last year's UEFA rankings. So Ireland were 41st last year, and so we need 8 countries ahead of us to have their underage league winners reach the Champions' League as well.
Farewell thread. It's been one of the great years of them.
http://www.insideworldfootball.com/2...-battleground/
The UEFA Access list is up for discussion tomorrow.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
Iceland and Israel, 2 places I didnt expect to be in as the season started, Amsterdam/Almaar was special just simply for the football. Beating BATE was sweet considering their post match antics after winning last year so apart from the win they are just a nasty bunch. Legea was a lot of what ifs after the 1st leg. Proud season and and pity we didnt sign off with the Kilduff chance and gain the point that would have had us odds on for seeding next season. We shall see players out and in quickly enough now!
So the UCL changes got voted through today.
It was approved for national champions who get knocked out to drop to the next stage of the UEL in a dedicated 'Champions path' regardless of what UCL round they are beaten in. I guess that's a silver lining of sort in that it should be easier for our champions to get to the UEL group stages, while at the same time making it harder to get the the UCL promised land.
http://en.as.com/en/2016/12/09/footb...03_008421.html
The change for domestic champions to drop into the Europa League qualifiers is no surprise. More teams starting in CLQ1 and less losing in the CL playoff naturally created space for domestic champions in ELQ2, ELQ3 and EL playoff round. The champions route to the Europa League is a logical step as well.
Leagues with champions often on the fringes of a seeding in CLQ2 will benefit from the change. Their champions while having a lesser chance of making the Champions League have an increased realistic chance of making the Europa League, which is an appropriate level for where they are at that time.
I imagine our league's champion will be seeded in an expanded CLQ1 more often than not. CLQ2 should be attainable meaning at least getting to ELQ3 and a strong possibility of making the EL playoffs in the champions route. All in all, 4 rounds of European action will be very attainable for LoI champions under the proposed changes.
When UEFA open a door, they often find it hard to close it e.g. 3rd placed CL teams entering EL Round of 32. Now they've opened the door for all domestic champions to have the EL qualifier safety net, I hope it's a decision that is not reversed.
If the ECA are insistent on a Super League, I'm not sure what more can be done after these recent changes? When the Champions League had a second group stage which featured the level of teams they want in a Super League, that second group stage was modified to the current Round of 16 as the second group stage was not a hit.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
Probably the best we could have hoped for under the circumstances. There will be extra funding too for Europa League to tune if €50 million & a further €10 million added to teams who go out in qualifying rounds. Overall I'm not displeased. We've seen this year the prize money teams can make in Europe and that is only going to increase. Now if we could only get the same to happen at home from Fran & Irene.
https://foot.ie/forums/117-Kerry-FC
A Championship: 4 years - 8 first teams - 0 financially ruined. First Division '14: 7 first teams.
Opportunity lost for new clubs/regions to join the LoI family.
In this article there is more info. There's also €112m in solidarity payments set aside to clubs not qualified for UEFA club competitions, this in theory is given to the relevant FAs for distribution to those clubs.
In FAI land, such a solidarity payment is distributed to the clubs after receiving a severe short back and sides, deductions to cover accumulation of punitive petty fines and registrations fees for the privilege of being allowed to be in a league where they can be fined.
One thing though which would probably favour clubs from the lower ranked leagues has not been resolved yet and I suspect it's being watered down and that is to do with clubs with little euro competition experience benefitting from their association's coefficient, thereby allowing them to inherit a high coeff/seeding rather than earn it.
I'm not sure what a "tougher stance" from the clubs looks like, given the placid acceptance or suppine brown nosing most of them do at the FAI AGM.
Only Derry and St Pats took a tough stance with the FAI and stood up to them over their treatment of the league. All the others looked at the floor and pretended they were busy with something else.
Clubs don't stand up to the FAI on anything, as the FAI has most of them exactly where it wants them. That - combined with the debt still on the Aviva - is the reason why the LOI prize money will not be seeing increases of note any time soon.
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