LoI in Europe 2024

[nr637]

LOI Clubs in Europe 2024

Stadium Seating Capacity

Shels, Tolka Park 4,300
St. Pats, Richmond Park 2,800
Derry, Brandywell Stadium 3,300
Shamrocks, Tallaght Stadium 10,000

[yurt]

For the past 20 years I always thought results in Europe were going to be the key for the LOI growing and gaining respect of the Irish public.

In the past couple of years my opinion has changed and it's now modern facilities rather than European results which hold the keys to our future.

I can now just enjoy the LOI clubs participating in Europe for what it is instead of lying to myself that some other club winning a few euro ties is somehow going to mean more people are going to show up to Galway United games.

[brendy_éire]

Derry being allocated 200 tickets for the away match against Bruno's Magpies.
Stadium being used isn't the big Victoria one, it's Europa Point. It only has 770 seats, apparently, so in theory they only needed to give us 34 tickets. Bruno's get around 300 at a match normally.

I'd guess it'll be a similar story for Shels the week after us.

I've been down past the ground before, and unless things have changed, you can see into it from the street. At least that's back-up option for people.

[2 Year Contract]

LOI Clubs in Europe 2024

Stadium Seating Capacity

Shels, Tolka Park 4,300
St. Pats, Richmond Park 2,800
Derry, Brandywell Stadium 3,300
Shamrocks, Tallaght Stadium 10,000

Tolka having 4,300 seats minus the terracing sounds wrong

[2 Year Contract]

Derry being allocated 200 tickets for the away match against Bruno's Magpies.
Stadium being used isn't the big Victoria one, it's Europa Point. It only has 770 seats, apparently, so in theory they only needed to give us 34 tickets. Bruno's get around 300 at a match normally.

I'd guess it'll be a similar story for Shels the week after us.

I've been down past the ground before, and unless things have changed, you can see into it from the street. At least that's back-up option for people.

I don’t envy you after the ticketing anxiety endured in the run up to Pats game in Luxembourg last year. The club were given two extensions to the allocation and there were mad waiting lists for tickets. Thankfully Dudelange didn’t sell out and pretty much all of the 450 or so that travelled got in. Can’t see that being an issue this year with Vaduz's ground having 5,800 seats with their average crowd last season at 1,500. I see rovers fans have been shafted with a max of 50 tickets for the game in Iceland. As annoying as it is to deal with when it affects you, it’s a brilliant sign of the health of the league’s attendances when European away allocations don’t meet the demand of our clubs at times

[nr637]

Tolka having 4,300 seats minus the terracing sounds wrong

Hi 2 Year Contract,

The The Richmond Road Stand or Main Stand has a capacity of over 1,800 seats while the opposite Riverside Stand has approximately 2,500 seating capacity since damaged seating has been repaired.
Total seating capacity so is approximately 4,300 at present.

Hope this helps and explains.

[brendy_éire]

I am still saying you guys are not taking into account the heat over there in early July. Plus I bet they will go for the late afternoon kick off time again for the advantage, they are under no obligation to play at 730 or 6.

It could be 33-35c at 5pm again if they could with that time, Shels and Derry will go through, I still say both will not win the away legs, we shall see.

That's exactly what they're going for. Better for them, and they're too cheap to hire a generator for the floodlights.

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...tadium-4674133

[Longfordian]

FC Vaduz a blast from the past. Are we the last loi side to have played them until now?

Vaduz is a grand little place and the club were extremely welcoming of us. Of course we returned the favour by losing in both legs but there you are. That was 20 bloody years ago, how is that possible?

[EalingGreen]

That's exactly what they're going for. Better for them, and they're too cheap to hire a generator for the floodlights.

https://www.derryjournal.com/sport/f...tadium-4674133

Though as the article notes, the early k.o. somewhat offsets the cost of the trip by the fact that a chartered jet can land and return same day, which must be a decent saving.

[brendy_éire]

Though as the article notes, the early k.o. somewhat offsets the cost of the trip by the fact that a chartered jet can land and return same day, which must be a decent saving.

I'd imagine the club will go the day before and leave straight after the match, which is what they usually do.

Do think the ticket allocation isn't be anywhere near enough for the amount of away fans that seem to be going to this.

[EalingGreen]

I'd imagine the club will go the day before and leave straight after the match, which is what they usually do.

Now you mention it, UEFA likely have a rule requiring teams to arrive the day before (in case of travel delays etc) - they certainly do for international games eg when ROI played NI away in 1993, Charlton wanted the team to stay just over the border the night before (Castleblayney?), but was told they had actually to be in NI.

That said, the early k.o. will still avoid a two night Charter for DCFC, plus extra hotel bill etc.

[pineapple stu]

You have to be in the country 24 hours before kickoff. (And like, what serious team would fly in on the morning if a game?)

[Nesta99]

Now you mention it, UEFA likely have a rule requiring teams to arrive the day before (in case of travel delays etc) - they certainly do for international games eg when ROI played NI away in 1993, Charlton wanted the team to stay just over the border the night before (Castleblayney?), but was told they had actually to be in NI.

That said, the early k.o. will still avoid a two night Charter for DCFC, plus extra hotel bill etc.

Nuremore Hotel, Carrickmacross using Oriel Park, Carrickmacross Road to use the full name, for training. I met the team as a youngster after sneaking in to the ViP area at the old Dundalk Racecourse the Thursday or Friday evening before (I say sneaking in but really I just walked in brazenly) Still have the full squads autographs somewhere but they were well on the pints by 6pm or so so not sure that could be authenticated but I know thay are real! Im pretty sure the Nurmore/Oriel Park base was used a few times around that era not just for the N.I. game, Oriel may recall better?!. I remember the controversy over needing to stay in NI and Charlton being gruff about it, the lore at the time was that rooms were booked in the Europa Hotel in Belfast but were used by FAI brass and partners and the team still travelled from Dundak on the day (probably stopped in some chipper for the prematch meal.....), not sure about the veracity of this story but it is completely in line with the way things were done by Jack/FAI so who knows. They left from the Belfast hotel to Windsor.

Its definitely a requirement to travel the day before at the latest, but would would teams have to stay say in Lux if an available hotel is available just over the border with frictionless travel, or a pre Brexit Gib and Spanish side of the rock? Even the day before could cut it fine if there are problems with flights (Im sure they have to be chartered too), was it St Pats that there was a bit of sweating on availability of a charter plane in the days before an away tie? There have been a few significant return delays on even charter flights fpr Dundalk in the past, longer waits that Ive had on commercial flights, and did not go down well when needing to get ready for a domestic game 48 hours after European game so only one day training available..

[2 Year Contract]

Its definitely a requirement to travel the day before at the latest, but would would teams have to stay say in Lux if an available hotel is available just over the border with frictionless travel, or a pre Brexit Gib and Spanish side of the rock? Even the day before could cut it fine if there are problems with flights (Im sure they have to be chartered too), was it St Pats that there was a bit of sweating on availability of a charter plane in the days before an away tie? There have been a few significant return delays on even charter flights fpr Dundalk in the past, longer waits that Ive had on commercial flights, and did not go down well when needing to get ready for a domestic game 48 hours after European game so only one day training available..

Yep, although the issue was with getting the charter home. They got the chartered flight out no bother but in the midst of the aviation chaos in the summer of 2022 they got shafted by a late cancellation for the charter for the way home with a game against Shels due to be played on the Sunday. IIRC, the UEFA rules state that chartered flights have to be used to and from games from the Second(?) round onwards (this was a Third round game anyways). They ended up having to stay longer in Bulgaria and got the players home in dribs and drabs on public flights and afterwards UEFA & FAI accepted there was no alternative and were satisfied that every possible attempt was made to get another charter

[Nesta99]

Ah yes, I remember now, Shels game postponed to much annoyance in Tolka and proven the delay was legit so FAI didnt award the walkover.

[EalingGreen]

I remember the controversy over needing to stay in NI and Charlton being gruff about it, the lore at the time was that rooms were booked in the Europa Hotel in Belfast but were used by FAI brass and partners and the team still travelled from Dundak on the day (probably stopped in some chipper for the prematch meal.....), not sure about the veracity of this story but it is completely in line with the way things were done by Jack/FAI so who knows. They left from the Belfast hotel to Windsor.

Not so.

Ger Canning confirms this: "We stayed in the Irish team hotel outside Belfast overnight." - "outside" means he cannot be referring to the Europa.
https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2018...k-25-years-on/

[El-Pietro]

Now you mention it, UEFA likely have a rule requiring teams to arrive the day before (in case of travel delays etc) - they certainly do for international games eg when ROI played NI away in 1993, Charlton wanted the team to stay just over the border the night before (Castleblayney?), but was told they had actually to be in NI.

That said, the early k.o. will still avoid a two night Charter for DCFC, plus extra hotel bill etc.

I have a vague memory of that causing an issue for Cork City against Malmo in 2004. I think Pat Dolan wanted the team to stay in Copenhagen but they had to be in Sweden the day before the game. I may have invented that memory, or I might be mixing up some apocryphal stories.