100 in Dublin though, irrespective of venue size.
I presume that counts players, etc.
Yeah, it's a bit of a crude measure, but then there are probably higher priorities for the government than fine-tuning how many punters can watch Harps perform improvisational knee surgery.
The other headline figure is 200 max for smaller stadia.
You can't spell failure without FAI
100 in Dublin though, irrespective of venue size.
I presume that counts players, etc.
There will be specific guidance for larger venues in Levels 1 and 2 - at level 3 everything is behind closed doors - https://www.gov.ie/en/publication/18e18-level-2/#sports
No it's 100 actual spectators on top of the players stewards officials etc
Macclesfield Town were wound up today, four days ahead of the new Conference season. The first professional club to go to the wall in covid times I think. Southend United had a winding-up order deferred too.
No real surprise to be honest - Macclesfield in particular were in bad shape anyway. But the LoI with fans barely makes sense, so without fans, it's surely only a matter of time before the same thing happens here? No real point singling out clubs either; like covid itself, it could hit anyone really.
Macclesfield were in a lot of trouble for several years. This is from last December.
https://www.theguardian.com/football...ub-owed-182000
This isn't surprising news but I'm sure Covid accelerated the difficulties they were already in. Theres no way football outside the elite can survive without fans in any meaningful way. It will be European Super League and 5 a side and nothing in between unless fans can return.
What happens to LOI though if Dublin moves to level 3, and this has not been ruled out and as early as this w/e - if figures continue to increase?
From rte.ie
Level 3 restrictions will limit visitors to your home to one other household only (this has been introduced in Dublin). No social or family gatherings should take place in other settings.
Weddings will be limited to 25 while outdoor gatherings will be capped at 15. Sports training can continue but no matches will be allowed. All museums and galleries will be closed
#DundalkFC - First Irish club to win an away game in Europe (1963), first Irish club to win points in a group stage in Europe (2016).
Level 3 has an exemption - "Professional/elite/inter-county/club championship/horse-racing can take place behind closed doors". Level 4 has the same exemption. It's only at Level 5 would LoI matches stop, by my reading.
You make a good point there as regards fans, a few of us were chatting about this and the consensus was there is no real interest in having a full season next year of watching Derry on a streaming service.
It would really make little difference to us were the club to sit out a year and reenter the league the following season.
It obviously isn’t as simple as that but still the prevailing opinion was that without fans it is completely pointless.
Obviously us being absolutely crap lends itself to this way of thinking and a Rovers fan for example may not agree so much.
Next season is where the crunch comes. Clubs may hobble through this year but how do you plan for a year with no clarity on whether there will be fans or proper income of any description. The FAI can't keep helping forever, and can we keep people engaged with clubs as fans and volunteers fall out of the habit etc? The tendency of LOI clubs to have short term contracts may help here but it's a bleak picture indeed looking at next season to be perfectly honest.
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
FAI calling for 3.5m in funding for the LoI if no fans allowed next year.
You would imagine that they won't get the half of that if everyone comes looking for money next year; the country's already on target to borrow close on half the bailout funds this year, and the longer this goes on, the more it's going to have to prioritise where funds go I think.
As Mr A mentioned and it makes sense that next year is where the real crunch would hit. Be interesting to see November's Budget and will give some indication on if/where govt. spending will be adjusted. Maybe though, and while there isnt such thing as cheap credit of this magnitude, the EU mechanisms put in place post bailout might soften the impact in comparison. I dont think major budget cuts will happen, cutting spending when the economy has contracted overnight would be madness. Sundry covid like spending will probably be paired back to 2019 levels and what has been spent in 2020 its stick it on the tab so to speak. The fly in the ointment will be how much covid lingers and availability of vaccines (which are already being dealt with at an EU level). Flipping Brexit is sounding more economic alarms than covid now...
Id be surprised if the FAI are throwing out figures of what they need in 2021 as opposed to what they want and then hope to actually get. I dont think clubs will be getting major capital grants anytime soon but assisting with keeping NGOs especially in sports going, may actually loosen those purse strings. The cost of keeping the likes of FAI ticking over for a pretty meagre €3.5mil, is a whole lot cheaper than dealing with fallout eg disrupted community cohesion, mantal and physical health, social exclusion - the list is endless. But then when have govt budgets been set on established convention and common sense.
FAI looking for €19.2m in total - €3.5m is just for the LoI.
Ha! Serves me right for not clicking in to the actual link for the full story. Ok €20mil changes the level a tad but is still too high imo to be much more than sounding out how far they can push the begging bowl. At that sort of money then it has to be in context of other sporting organisations too - Sports that have major assets, cash reserves, and the ability to generate income that dwarf the FAI. But again imagine giving 20mil to football and not tripling that for GAA?! So if LoI needs €3.5mil (roughly a fifth?) of the total, what is the FAI still spending money on? Cant be massive staffing costs in development roles or basic admin. Servicing debt restructuring might be a good chunk. International sides yeah but as old fashioned as it seems, certainly at senior level renumeration should be the privilage of representing your country and not an additional earner to the thousands a week earned at clubs. I dunno, there's obviously a way to go before anything the FAI wants is not accepted without due scrutiny. Can we knock a few mil off by witholding pensions of former crooked staff??
OK, so two pieces of news from the past week or so have given us an indication of what will happen in the next year or so. Firstly, the government setting of levels of openness during the pandemic and secondly, the statement by the head of the CDC that a vaccine won't be widely available until the second or third quarter of 2021 (although it will be available for high-priority groups earlier in the year). Given this, what should the plan for the LOI be in 2021?
1. Have a full season, limping by with crowds of 200/500 and revenue from the streaming service for the first few months, with the hope of getting bumper crowds in the second half (could they ask for an increase in the limits to allow for vaccinated citizens earlier in the year?)
2. Start the season late, and possibly shorten it so that early-season losses are limited
3. Switch back to Winter football, starting up in August/September/October
4. Shut the clubs down for the year and start up again in 2022
Id say it would be preferred by some but UEFA wouldn’t go for it , if your qualified for a UEFA competition and don’t take part you’ll be burnt at the stake.4. Shut the clubs down for the year and start up again in 2022
Nobody knows the future and how things will pan out but I'd have little interest in what we currently have carrying over to next season,the product on the field isn't good enough to watch without crowds and atmosphere.
Imagine fast forwarding to the first game of the season next February and the season kicking off in the ****ing rain,pitch black and empty grounds its a depressing thought,at the minute option 3 would be my pick to see how things are but who knows what the future brings.....
Irish by birth ,Harps by the grace of god.
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