eL Attendances compared to other sports

[Steve Bruce]

No, because then we'd have to add in all the people watching junior football (which would be more IMO)

But really we shouldn't be adding any teams together.

The fact is Ulster/Leinster/Munster etc are CLUB teams just like Derry City, Dublin City, Cork City.

The catchement might be bigger, but that is just hard luck to teams with smaller catchements.

But Magners league is 3 or 4 times better supported than the LOI.

But you can take comfort in the fact that your attendances are still rising, so maybe in 3 or 4 years time you would be better compared with Rugby. But at the moment you lagg well behind.

[Dodge]

But at the moment you lagg well behind.

Nobody's denying that. I'm saying its an unfair comparison and even then bar the couple of exceptions mentioned, the difference is not too big.

[galwayhoop]

The fact is Ulster/Leinster/Munster etc are CLUB teams just like Derry City, Dublin City, Cork City.

Thats not a fact I'm afraid. They are provencial teams.

However they do play in Club competitions in the Heineken Cup and Magniers (Bulmers) League. There is no football equivilent of the provencial teams in this country, clubs like Derry City, Cork City, Galway United (i'll use GUFC because your other example is defunct!!) would be compared with teams like Garryowen, Landsdowne or Galwegians. There is no soccer comparison for the provencial teams. We must refrain from comparing apples with pears!!

It is not a major distinction but it is there all the same.

[balls]

eircom league teams wuld be of the equivalent of ail rugby clubs not the provences

[Patrick Dunne]

Galway United, representing Galway City and County, get a higher average
gate than Connacht rugby, who represent the entire province.

Bear in mind that the provinces represent the pinnacle of club rugby. If Connacht are playing Leinster in the Sportsgrounds, you won't see hundreds of rugby barstoolers wearing Northampton tops in local hostelries telling people that "they wouldn't cross the road to watch that rubbish".

Provinical rugby matches also get far higher media coverage than their EL counterparts.

AIL Division One home gates are often lower than Monaghan vs Kilkenny. I was at Galwegians vs Buccaneers earlier this season. A local derby, relegation battle, with a sizeable proportion of the crowd supoorting the away team.

150 punters, maximum.

[Da Real Rover]

The fact is Ulster/Leinster/Munster etc are CLUB teams just like Derry City, Dublin City, Cork City.

Wrong, Irish football clubs often represent a city, town or even the surrounding county but never the province. The rugby is provincial.

[Lim till i die]

Combined attendance of about 22,000 at the two televised Gah games today

What was the combined attendance of all the Eircom League games at the weekend................

[Paddyfield]

Wrong, Irish football clubs often represent a city, town or even the surrounding county but never the province. The rugby is provincial.

I wonder how many people travel from Mayo, Leitrim, Roscommon and Sligo to atteng Connacht Rugby games?

Connacht Rugby installed floodlights last year which can be seen in the distance from Terryland and switched their games to Friday nights at 6.30pm too which clash with GUFC games at 7.45pm.

[Lim till i die]

Connacht Rugby installed floodlights last year which can be seen in the distance from Terryland and switched their games to Friday nights at 6.30pm too which clash with GUFC games at 7.45pm.

Did the doggies not need floodlights all along

I thought Satan (sorry John Fallon) was pretty heavily involved in both

[Gaillimh Al]

Did the doggies not need floodlights all along

You musn't have been to the dogs in a while. Lights illuminating the track would hardly light up the pitch in the middle of it to playing standards.

[Lim till i die]

You musn't have been to the dogs in a while. Lights illuminating the track would hardly light up the pitch in the middle of it to playing standards.

Oooops a doodle

[Kingdom]

Just a point. If you're comparing other sports and the LOI for attendences then surely you would have to compare attendences in the AIL as the best example as that is the base form of Rugby in this country? It isn't a fair comparsion to compare the LOI with the provinces as they are amalgamations, almost franchises if you will.

As it is teams that compete in the AIL are essentially no different from teams that compete say in provincial leagues or in the towns cup, they are more advanced or financially capable but that is quite the same as the League of Ireland. This is club football in its most base form in Ireland, yes it may be of a higher standard than the LSL or MSL but that comes with being established.

So if you wanted a fair guide in attendences then compare the AIL with the LOI and the attendences look good!

It is wrong also to compare the LOI with the intercounty GAA teams.

[G-Man]

Just a point. If you're comparing other sports and the LOI for attendences then surely you would have to compare attendences in the AIL as the best example as that is the base form of Rugby in this country? It isn't a fair comparsion to compare the LOI with the provinces as they are amalgamations, almost franchises if you will.

As it is teams that compete in the AIL are essentially no different from teams that compete say in provincial leagues or in the towns cup, they are more advanced or financially capable but that is quite the same as the League of Ireland. This is club football in its most base form in Ireland, yes it may be of a higher standard than the LSL or MSL but that comes with being established.

So if you wanted a fair guide in attendences then compare the AIL with the LOI and the attendences look good!

It is wrong also to compare the LOI with the intercounty GAA teams.

Why is that? I thought the eL teams are representative of a city or county. What are GAA teams? There are also provincial GAA teams too for the railway cup, but I assume thats where the rugby AIL and Heineken cup teams have similarities.

[Dodge]

Why is that? I thought the eL teams are representative of a city or county. What are GAA teams? There are also provincial GAA teams too for the railway cup, but I assume thats where the rugby AIL and Heineken cup teams have similarities.

Some are, some aren't. There's 6 el clubs in Dubln, you may have noticed.

There's hierarchies in the other sports, there's not in football

Gaelic Games
Club -> Intercounty

Rugby
Club -> Provincial

Football
Club (and thats it)

Where as fans of Lansdowne Rugby CLub will join up with fans of Wanderers to become fans of Leinster RUgby and fans of Ballyboden St Endas will join up with fans of Thomas Davis to become Dublin fans, Irish football clubs have their own set of unique fans.

Personally I think the whole debate is foolish and tiresome.

[Jerry The Saint]

Football
Club (and thats it)

Well, in theory it should be

Club - > National Team

which is part of the problem really.

Personally I think the whole debate is foolish and tiresome

Agree with that It's not as tiresome as the great - where does our league hypothetically fit in with the English leagues - debate though.

[Dodge]

Well, in theory it should be

Club - > National Team

which is part of the problem really.

yeah, but then Rugby and, to a much lesser degree, the Gaelic Games have that too (in terms of fans). I accept the point regarding it being part of the problem though

[Ceirtlis]

just to compare to elsewhere leicster rugby club sell out every game and its got to the stage where its so hard to get to a first team game they are sellling out reserve team games because people are so keen to see the club in action.leiscter city on the other hand dont sell out games afaik.you deffo had 10000 at longford/westmeath at the weekend.how does that compare to lonford and athlones last home gates??

Leicester rugby club are one of if not the biggest rugby club in england while Leicester City are a fairly run of the mill soccer team. Leicester City play in a much bigger stadium as well(even though the Tigers have plans to move into it) so its not really a comparison. Rugby attendances in England in the Premiership are only somewhere between Championship and League One i think.
Ail rugby in Ireland is dead. About 10 years ago i remember Galwegians had avergae attendance of over 1000 for a season but the provincial system has killed it as the good players are not allowed to play in the club teams.

[G-Man]

Some are, some aren't. There's 6 el clubs in Dubln, you may have noticed.

There's hierarchies in the other sports, there's not in football

Gaelic Games
Club -> Intercounty

Rugby
Club -> Provincial

Football
Club (and thats it)

Where as fans of Lansdowne Rugby CLub will join up with fans of Wanderers to become fans of Leinster RUgby and fans of Ballyboden St Endas will join up with fans of Thomas Davis to become Dublin fans, Irish football clubs have their own set of unique fans.

Personally I think the whole debate is foolish and tiresome.

I agree with your last sentiments alright. I was only pointing out that GAA teams and eL are in most places of a similar level. I know where I am tho (altho maybe Wexford is unique in this) but local league clubs here get together to support our eL team, in the very same manner as the county GAA teams. So here it would be club-> eL team. But its an argument that would go around in circles anyway. In all honesty, the GAA does get much better support (again, going from personal viewpoint) but the eL seems to be attracting more and more, and I think Wexfords support in the first division has added a lot to the league as a whole.

[John83]

It's not easy to compare attendances between the sports, as demonstrated by Genesis, who took their eL figures from foot.ie's guesstimates and compared them with wildly inaccurate and/or misrepresentative figures from other sports.

[endabob1]

Just a point. If you're comparing other sports and the LOI for attendences then surely you would have to compare attendences in the AIL as the best example as that is the base form of Rugby in this country? It isn't a fair comparsion to compare the LOI with the provinces as they are amalgamations, almost franchises if you will.

As it is teams that compete in the AIL are essentially no different from teams that compete say in provincial leagues or in the towns cup, they are more advanced or financially capable but that is quite the same as the League of Ireland. This is club football in its most base form in Ireland, yes it may be of a higher standard than the LSL or MSL but that comes with being established.

So if you wanted a fair guide in attendences then compare the AIL with the LOI and the attendences look good!

It is wrong also to compare the LOI with the intercounty GAA teams.

In a probably doomed attempt to get this back on track, I think we should look at other sports attendances for the very simple reason that a lot of people who go to Rugby & GAA games are Sports fans in general and as such could and should be a target audience for the EL. If Munster are getting 8/9,000 for Celtic League games in Limerick or Cork surely some of those could be tempted to watch Cork City 0r Limerick 37?
Ditto for GAA games, if there were Ten thousand (accoring to the indo) at the Longford Westmeath game why shouldn't Longford & Athlone be looking to a proportion of those 10,000 sports fans to come to Flancare or Lissywollen?