The A Championship?

[Poor Student]

Poor Student what are you on about saying we couldnt field a team. Weve already got the 1st team, U21s, 2 teams in the LSL and about 64 College Superleague teams, we have the biggest pool of players going and this A Championship setup suits us better than anyone else

Yeah, but how many of those are on the books of the AFC as paid players? I mean, fine, if that's the way we want to go about it then we could easily put together an A Championship squad, but why put that imposition on us? Also, what's the attraction for non-league clubs? Higgins pulled this away from the main questions I was asking, like will non-league clubs compete in their Intermediate league and this at the same time? Is this a legitimate 3rd flight or some sort of mishmash pseudo league? Why not just have a 3rd flight more like the English conference? What is the point on insisting on reserve teams at the same time as a wage cap?

[Student Mullet]

Yeah, but how many of those are on the books of the AFC as paid players? I mean, fine, if that's the way we want to go about it then we could easily put together an A Championship squad, but why put that imposition on us? Also, what's the attraction for non-league clubs? Higgins pulled this away from the main questions I was asking, like will non-league clubs compete in their Intermediate league and this at the same time? Is this a legitimate 3rd flight or some sort of mishmash pseudo league? Why not just have a 3rd flight more like the English conference? What is the point on insisting on reserve teams at the same time as a wage cap?

I presume it'll be much the same as the current reserve league; mostly league clubs with some local clubs and some institutions. I presume the local clubs also field teams in the senior leagues. I think it's a good idea to give clubs a formal means of entering the league but there are some questions to be answered. Are the 'A' champions obliged to challenge for a Div. 1 place or can they decline? If they decline, can the runners up claim the playoff place? What happens if a team nowhere near a UEFA license wins the 'A' league?

[Poor Student]

Are the 'A' champions obliged to challenge for a Div. 1 place or can they decline?

I'd assume so.

If they decline, can the runners up claim the playoff place?

Not sure.

What happens if a team nowhere near a UEFA license wins the 'A' league?

They won't get in.

[citybone]

big clubs like city shels drogs bohs and derry will find the reserve league good to get players over 20/21 match experience aswell as having more players in the summer transfer match fit to sign i dont think it should not be compulsery but it should be encouraged i like the idea of more university teams and it will make the fai cup much more competitive in terms of a upset its also good to have it regionalised

[lefty]

You wont need an A Licence to play in the 1st Division only the Premier League. This league will hopefully be a 3rd tier, take a look at the Spanish leagues 2nd and 3rd tiers you will see that there are lots of B teams plying their trade in them and this will be a similar situation i reckon. Most teams Wayside etc have two teams anyway if not more. At least two, one saturday (B) and one Sunday (A) leinster senior league. It would be easy for them to put a team into this A Championship with the possibility of getting into the 1st Div and the money on offer. The likes of Mayo and Kerry League have a number of players in each respective county to choose from, the Gardai have an U/21 team, 2 leinster senior league sides and 2 divisions of players in the Garda Dublin Metropolitan League alone so again no shortage of players there. How about the untapped counties aswel im sure the Ofally Westmeath Laois league will be looking at this with a bit of interest, Wexford aswel, im sure there will be plenty of interest in it to be honest, it says €5000 to enter this may be a bit steep but remember these teams have means of making money, and to give a comparison its €800 for students to put a team in the Superleague and refs fees on top of that. The only thing i think needs to be sorted out are a) do Championship teams need a B licence for the 1st div and will they be given finance/incentives to get this and b) what will the story with Championship teams getting into the FAI and League Cup be?

[Breifne]

Is the intention of the FAI to have a Premiership of 10 teams capable of fielding a team in the A League?

Just because UCD would struggle to field a team means nothing!
Maybe its further indication that UCD should not be considered for one of the Premiership places.

I think to be fair, having been involved with a team in UCD this year, that they would probably be one of the teams most likely to do well in the 'A' Championship. A good bunch of young players in the 21's league and in both LSL Sides, where they have only lost a handful of games in two divisions for the last three years.

I would expect that most clubs financial structures won't be affected too much by the inclusion of a reserve squad. Players in the reserve squad will be amateur for the most point, the same with the Under 21's. The only costs are travel and coaching really.

[monutdfc]

Will dual registration of players* as proposed by Genesis apply to the A League, just the U-20 league or neither?
(*ie where players retain their registration with their junior club while playing in this league.)
The Genesis report looked to GAA as a model for achieving local identity with and support for eL clubs. For non-City clubs this is one key way of doing so: talented local junior players can have a shot at league football without the risk of being a rarely-played squad member for a year with no football.

[Schumi]

I think that's the case for the Under-21 League at the moment, for the Kerry & Mayo teams anyway so I'd imagine the Under-20 league at least would continue that.

[Sniffer]

Hmmm, a salary cap.In principle this is an excellent strategy IMO, BUT such a thing needs to apply across the footballing universe. No I don't expect Delaney & Co. to manage this. Isn't it true that professional footballers make their living from playing football, if so won't they want to go where the money is? The [borrowed] money that has lured top young players back to our league rather than hang around in the english game has made a significant impact. If there's a cap mightn't these players be more inclined to stay on in England for the extra shekels, thus lowering the quality of player that we can attract to our league?