There is not much point in league fans or the FAI picking an area and saying here should be a new club for the league (BUT here I am going to talk about just that). The only way that a team can go into the league is if there is enough dedicated members of the club who have a little financial clout. Without the core of a club (or area) pushing for this, it aint going to happen.
There are somethings the FAI can do tho, such as easing the financial burden on new and existing clubs. Currently we have amateur teams who struggle with the costs. More prize money and bigger grants is of course needed (I think everybody knows that). I remember reading a John O'Sullivan ariticle on the 42 that talked about how UEFA give 2.1mill to each FA to run the leagues, this needs to go into teams pockets, especially first division so a solid base can be built with infrastructure and time to allow a club to grow organically. Also, it would be super helpful for plenty of training to be provided to those who run the clubs.
I do believe small teams can exist in the league and do add something (random note... look at all the league talent that UCD produce, gven players something important to fall back on too). Although, I can never see any of the teams mentioned getting higher than 1000 average crowd over a year. Plus there will be a huge problem with any entering with Facilities and stadia.
Having entry into the leagues youth leagues is also a pretty big carrot for potential teams tho. I think the best option at the moment would be St. Kevins Boys, who already have a huge reputation , near fingal, which is huge population area and probably want entry to the u13/15/17 leagues. Plus maybe Evergreen again?? seems there is a lot of football activity in that area of the country and they seem to be doing pretty great at intermediate level.
Anyways, its a hell of a lot more important that we dont lose any clubs than find new ones. Losing the history of Athlone would be such a huge huge shame
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