2007 League of Ireland
Encyclopedia
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
, consisting of both the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland First Division, kicked off in March, 2007. The competition remained under the sponsorship of Irish telecommunications company, eircom
Eircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
.
Rather than being decided by the usual process of relegation and promotion, the participants of the respective Premier and First Divisions for 2007 were chosen by way of a ranking process carried out by an Independent Assessment Group appointed by the Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
.
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
should have been the defending champions, having won the title in November, 2006. However, they were prevented from doing so after the FAI decided that the club should be relegated from the top division for financial reasons prior to the beginning of the 2007 season. While their participation in the Premier Division was removed due to extreme financial trouble at the club, which had been present throughout the 2006 season, the title they won that season was not stripped from them.
The Independent Assessment group
On June 29, 2006 the clubs of the League of Ireland had voted to accept John DelaneyJohn Delaney (football administrator)
John Delaney is the current chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland .His father Joe was previously FAI treasurer. Delaney became acting chief executive of the FAI in December 2004 and took up the role full-time in March 2005. In November 2006, his contract was extended to 2012...
's proposals for change in the league system. The league make-up for 2007 would be decided by an Independent Assessment Group chaired by former FAI President Des Casey and appointed by the FAI. This group was to work from a set of pre-determined criteria for selection, taking factors such as past performance, current well-being and future development plans into account. Initially former footballer Niall Quinn
Niall Quinn
Niall John Quinn honorary MBE is a former Irish international footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland AFC. He still works at the club as an overseas manager. He is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing...
was a member of the group before becoming chairman of Sunderland FC.
The decision of the Group was finally announced on 11 December in the Citywest
Citywest
Citywest is a business park and golf resort in the Saggart area, just north and northwest of Saggart village in South Dublin. The nearest major town is Tallaght. The business park has developed a modest residential population in recent years...
Hotel, Dublin. The existing 21 clubs of the League of Ireland that took part in the process were ranked on the basis of points scored as a result of their achievements over the past five seasons on the pitch and how they measured up against specific criteria covering areas such as infrastructure, governance, strategic planning, finance, youth development and marketing. Twelve football clubs were chosen to participate in the League of Ireland Premier Division. A large quantity of speculation surrounded this decision. It was seen as certain that Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
(due to their past successes and despite their financial uncertainty -, Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
, Drogheda United, Cork City, Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
, St. Patrick's Athletic, Longford Town
Longford Town F.C.
Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park...
, Sligo Rovers
Sligo Rovers F.C.
Sligo Rovers Football Club is a professional Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 1928 and have been in the League of Ireland since 1934. The club is a co-operative venture, owned by the people of Sligo. Sligo Rovers have played at...
, Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...
and UCD
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...
would feature. Bray Wanderers
Bray Wanderers A.F.C.
Bray Wanderers A.F.C. are an Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1942 and elected to the League in 1985, hails from Bray and play their home matches at the Carlisle Grounds. Club colours are Green and White, and it goes by the nickname...
were next in line. That left one remaining place which was expected to be filled by either Waterford United, Galway United or Dundalk
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...
. Out of these three Galway United were selected to participate.
Galway had issued a statement on their website prior to the official announcement that claimed they would be playing in the Premier Division but the club then said that it was only a conclusion they themselves reached after carrying out their own assessment of criteria. Their geographical status and facilities strengthened their case for inclusion.
The final selection sparked controversy in Dundalk
Dundalk
Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations...
. Despite the fact that Dundalk FC had won what they perceived to be or believed should have been the annual promotion/relegation Play-Off, and what would have been a promotion/relegation game in any other normal season, in November 2006, they were one of the teams omitted from the 2007 League of Ireland Premier Division and were, instead, chosen to play in the League of Ireland First Division. Dundalk, however, argued that they had a right to compete in the Premier Division following their Play-Off defeat of Waterford United
Waterford United
Waterford United is an Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 and hails from Waterford. Originally the club was based at Kilcohan Park greyhound stadium, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports...
. "What was the point of the league taking our players and fans all the way down to Waterford if it counted for nothing?", questioned one official even though they were one of the clubs to vote for the FAI's new proposals earlier in 2006. Dundalk's protests had no real weight, however, as the 2006 season's game had never been billed as a promotion/relegation fixture. Furthermore, the claim that the game counted for nothing was technically incorrect - the Play-Off's purpose was solely to decide which teams were to be positioned in 12th and 13th place within the overall season standings of all 21 clubs for the purpose of the IAG's process and their dispensing of assessment points, and thus, it did contribute points to Dundalk's final assessment tally. However, that was little consolation. The difference between the two positions of 12th and 13th was a mere point anyway, which in the grand scheme of things did not make a significant difference to the final decision of the IAG. Although the game did count for something, it counted for very little and verged on pointlessness. Meanwhile, Galway United
Galway United
Galway United F.C. was founded as Galway Rovers in 1937. They are a football club currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of the Irish football....
, who finished the season in 3rd place behind Dundalk's 2nd were chosen for the Premier Division. After a subsequent meeting with the FAI, Dundalk's CEO, Gerry Matthews, expressed his satisfaction with the process, which he viewed to be above board.
Ranking system
Entry into the Premier Division was determined by the ranking in points of the League of Ireland teams by the Independent Assessment Group conforming to a number of selection criteria. The twelve highest ranked teams were entered into the Premier Division for 2007, while the remainder made up the First Division on condition of each holding a relevant participation licence.Entry criteria and points allocation
There was a 50-50 sporting/non-sporting breakdown to reinforce the FAI's position that on and off-pitch standards were of equal importance.
| Criteria | Scoring | Detailed Breakdown / Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2002-03 - 2005 Seasons | 30% | Performances across the league, cups and European competition in the 2002-03; 2003; 2004 and 2005 playing seasons were scored in accordance with the system approved. Tallied points equated to rankings from 1 through to 21 and scoring points were allocated from 300 pts. through to 90 pts. |
| 2006 Season | 20% | FIFA FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth... system was used as a template. Total points gained across all competitions during the season were tallied and used to rank clubs from 1 to 21. Scoring points were assigned against rank from 200 pts. for the club ranked 1st through to 67 pts. for the club ranked 21st as follows: 200 - 193 - 187 - 180 - 173 - 167 - 160 - 153 - 147 - 140 - 133 - 127 - 120 - 113 - 107 - 100 - 93 - 87 - 80 - 73 - 67 |
| Infrastructure | 10% | Considerations here included: Safe-holding (minimum of 3,000), unencumbered access, ownership, long-term lessee, number of covered seats, plans regarding infrastructure development, etc. Long-term view: Club Infrastructure Development Plan (CIDP) = 60 pts. Immediate view: Stadium certificate = 40 pts. |
| Governance and Finance | 15% | Only those applicants eligible to apply for an 'A' licence were considered for the assessment process. Governance: Organisational Structure / Suitability / Business plan / Stability / Ownership / Board and Roles = 50 pts. Finance: Controls, Health Check, Status, etc. = 100 pts |
| Sustainability: Benchmarking, Youth Development and Strategic Planning | 15% | Benchmarking was based on licensing compliance record (i.e. 3-year trends) and provided the Independent Assessment Group with a clear picture of the applicant’s performance against the licensing requirements. It also provided a good indication as to progress made and the future sustainability/governance/infrastructure of applicants. The benchmarking process was carried out by the Licensing Unit and monitored by the Licensing Committee. Each applicant was asked to submit its strategy for the continuing development of its organisation. Club representatives were invited to meet with the IAG. The outcomes of the one-to-one meetings and the comprehensive analysis of the material provided allowed the IAG to form an opinion and allocate a score. Benchmarking: Licensing compliance record = 30 pts. (10 pts. per year 04, 05 and 06) Youth Development = 50 pts. Previous performance (e.g. Evidence / Rollout of Technical Development plan) = 20 pts. Plans for 07 (as per Licensing Requirements) = 10 pts. Plans for the Future = 20 pts. Each club was invited to meet the IAG (between 18–20 October) to discuss its strategy for development. Presentations and material provided = 70 pts. |
| Target Markets, Population Densities and Attendance Figures | 10% | Population data was used to highlight densities against existing clubs and the trends in their attendance rates. Those applicants, who stood alone in areas of large target markets and who have established a solid base of support as indicated by their consolidated attendance figures were allocated high scores in this category. Top Attendances (Average of Three Seasons) = 30 pts. Attendances weighted against league standings to recognise success in promoting club in challenging environment = 30 pts. Future Plans = 40 pts. |
Participation licences
Participation by teams was also subject to the granting of specific participation licences. Participation in the Premier Division is subject to the attaining of an 'A' licence, while participation in the First Division is subject to the attaining of a 'B' licence. The licence system is compulsory under UEFAUEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
rules and sets a lower caliber threshold for participation in each respective division in an attempt to maintain a consistent standard of quality, as well as to promote development.
Although Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
, when originally assessed, were placed to play in the Premier Division, their Premier Division licence was revoked after a review in February 2007 and the club was awarded with a First Division licence instead. Similarly, Limerick F.C.
Limerick F.C.
Limerick Football Club is an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland. The club currently play in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The first Limerick FC was founded in 1937 and has had a number of guises through its history, known at different times as Limerick FC, Limerick...
, who had a First Division spot reserved for them failed to receive the requisite First Division licence and were kicked out of the league and replaced by a new team, Limerick 37, who were awarded such a licence. The extinct Dublin City's
Dublin City F.C.
Dublin City Football Club was an Irish association football club that played in the League of Ireland. They were formed in 1999 after a split within Home Farm Everton and they originally played as Home Farm Fingal before changing their name for the 2001–02 season...
place was taken by Wexford Youths F.C.
Wexford Youths F.C.
Wexford Youths Football Club are an Irish football club from Wexford who compete in the Airtricity League First Division. The club joined the league after being awarded a First Division licence for the 2007 season. The opportunity to join the League of Ireland arose as Dublin City became bankrupt...
, who were also granted a First Division licence. Waterford United
Waterford United
Waterford United is an Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 and hails from Waterford. Originally the club was based at Kilcohan Park greyhound stadium, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports...
, being the next best-placed non-Premiership team, took the place of Shelbourne, having being awarded a Premier Division licence.
Final selection of clubs for 2007 season
The 12 clubs placed in the Premier Division:
|
The 10 clubs placed in the First Division:
|
The search for two new clubs
Following on from Dublin CityDublin City F.C.
Dublin City Football Club was an Irish association football club that played in the League of Ireland. They were formed in 1999 after a split within Home Farm Everton and they originally played as Home Farm Fingal before changing their name for the 2001–02 season...
's withdrawal from the League of Ireland Premier Division in the middle of the 2006 season, the number of clubs in the league was reduced to twenty-one (eleven in the Premier Division). This left an extra gap to fill which was taken by a club that may have otherwise played in the League of Ireland First Division. That in turn required a new club to be accepted into the league to fill the slot and make up the FAI's intended numbers in the First Division.
Furthermore, on 15 December 2006 it was revealed that Limerick FC, who were benchmarked to play in the First Division for the 2007 season subject to a successful licence appeal, were not granted the requisite licence by the FAI's Club Licensing First Instance Committee. They appealled to the Club Licensing Appeal Board but the initial decision was upheld. The club licensing process governed by UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
has been in operation since 2004 and sets out to ensure certain minimum standards are in place at every club. With almost €4,000 in outstanding fines, a below-par youth system and no stadium, as a long-term lease on Hogan Park had not been agreed, Limerick FC's league involvement came to the end of the road. The ruling meant that Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
could have been without a senior soccer side for the 2007 season - a first in 70 years - but John Delaney
John Delaney (football administrator)
John Delaney is the current chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland .His father Joe was previously FAI treasurer. Delaney became acting chief executive of the FAI in December 2004 and took up the role full-time in March 2005. In November 2006, his contract was extended to 2012...
, the FAI's chief executive, although disappointed, urged prospective applicants from the area to make a case for inclusion in the FAI-run league. Eager to welcome applications for a licence from other clubs in the Limerick
Limerick
Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...
area, he stated, "We want a healthy Limerick based club in the eircom League of Ireland and if interested entities seek a licence, we would assess them carefully for their suitability to meet the criteria required to play in the league."
The final identity of the possible two new clubs no longer remained unknown after it was announced on 6 February 2007 that Wexford Youths F.C.
Wexford Youths F.C.
Wexford Youths Football Club are an Irish football club from Wexford who compete in the Airtricity League First Division. The club joined the league after being awarded a First Division licence for the 2007 season. The opportunity to join the League of Ireland arose as Dublin City became bankrupt...
, were invited to partake. The establishment of the new side owed to a growing support for a senior club in County Wexford
County Wexford
County Wexford is a county in Ireland. It is part of the South-East Region and is also located in the province of Leinster. It is named after the town of Wexford. In pre-Norman times it was part of the Kingdom of Uí Cheinnselaig, whose capital was at Ferns. Wexford County Council is the local...
, led by millionaire construction magnate Mick Wallace. It was also understood that a new entity, known as Limerick 37, had formed and applied with the intention of taking the place of Limerick FC in the First Division for the 2007 season. Outside of Limerick and Wexford, other early indications had pointed to a possible new club from the south or west, in particular County Mayo
County Mayo
County Mayo is a county in Ireland. It is located in the West Region and is also part of the province of Connacht. It is named after the village of Mayo, which is now generally known as Mayo Abbey. Mayo County Council is the local authority for the county. The population of the county is 130,552...
or County Kerry
County Kerry
Kerry means the "people of Ciar" which was the name of the pre-Gaelic tribe who lived in part of the present county. The legendary founder of the tribe was Ciar, son of Fergus mac Róich. In Old Irish "Ciar" meant black or dark brown, and the word continues in use in modern Irish as an adjective...
but no potential development ever transpired on those fronts. If the FAI had not been successful in finding replacements due to a failure on the applicants' part in meeting the required standard for entry, they may have had to start the 2007 season with only 8 First Division sides as opposed to the preferred number of 10 clubs.
However, to add further complications to the beginning of the new season, Limerick FC chairman, Danny Drew, was granted an interim court injunction on 16 January 2007 stopping the introduction of any new clubs into the leagues. The injunction prevented the FAI from negotiating any contracts with any new entity to replace Limerick FC for a period. It was also believed that the injunction stopped the FAI from granting a licence to another new team and also prevented the participation agreement being signed by any of the proposed new national league sides which had applied for a licence. Worries were that the decision could have resulted in the formation of the new look Premier Division and First Division being put back while the case ran its course as initially the FAI had planned to have all clubs signed up to the participation agreement by 17 January 2007. However, the case failed at the subsequent stage and it seemed only to have delayed the expected invitation of Limerick 37. The new club were eventually invited to join the League of Ireland First Division on 9 February 2007, having been awarded with a First Division licence. Both Limerick 37 and Wexford Youths accepted their invitations.
Shelbourne's financial crisis and judicial relegation
Despite having battled with dire finances for much of the 2006 season, mainly due to market risk-taking in the drive for success, over-expenditure on player-purchase fees, high wages, low home attendance rates and continuing tax debts, ShelbourneShelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
actually managed to win the title. However, they had been hit with three winding-up orders by the Office of the Revenue Commissioners
Office of the Revenue Commissioners
The Office of the Revenue Commissioners , - now called simply Revenue - is the Irish Government agency responsible for customs, excise, taxation and related matters...
within a spell of nine months but just about managed to gather enough funds and investment to keep the tax collectors off their backs and keep the club running on each occasion. This was at the expense of the players, though, who had gone for weeks without their wages and it seemed that the only thing keeping them performing at the club was the season's climax and the drive for the title, as well as promises (which ultimately turned out to be empty) of a remedy. Once the season came to a close the rot set in and the general public were made fully aware of the true extent of how poor a state the club were in. Due to the finances, many found it extraordinary that Shelbourne had been awarded a Premier Division licence for 2007 by the Independent Assessment Group a few months earlier. They saw it as another chance to criticise the lack of transparency
Transparency (humanities)
Transparency, as used in science, engineering, business, the humanities and in a social context more generally, implies openness, communication, and accountability. Transparency is operating in such a way that it is easy for others to see what actions are performed...
within the organisation that appointed the Group who were supposed to dispense licences to clubs who were solvent and financially stable for the foreseeable future - the Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
. The association has been well used to criticism of its administration in the past, but clearly, the Group could not have been said to have performed their role effectively.
Manager Pat Fenlon
Pat Fenlon
Patrick "Pat" "Nutsy" Fenlon is an Irish former footballer and manager. He is currently in charge of Scottish Premier League club Hibernian....
tendered his resignation from Shelbourne on December 5, 2006. This was in spite of Shelbourne winning the title on goal difference from Derry City. Fenlon's departure precipitated a widescale exodus from Tolka Park
Tolka Park
Tolka Park is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne...
, as players, unhappy with the wage situation, departed to rival clubs - many having their contracts rescinded by law. Approaching the start of the 2007 season, the team was left with just two senior players by January, and the club's financial crisis resulted in the club pulling out of the Setanta Cup. The crisis even bagan to threaten their participation in the Champions' League for 2007. Shelbourne's woes were deepened on January 25, 2007 when owner and general manager, Ollie Byrne, was taken to hospital with a reported brain tumour, most likely, stress-induced.
Shelbourne, with no manager and just one remaining senior player by February were said to be massively in debt - some reports putting it at €6 million, and others between even €10 million and €12 million. The fiasco only served to increase the pressures on the FAI, who already had to find two new replacement clubs to participate in the league following the extinction of Dublin City F.C.
Dublin City F.C.
Dublin City Football Club was an Irish association football club that played in the League of Ireland. They were formed in 1999 after a split within Home Farm Everton and they originally played as Home Farm Fingal before changing their name for the 2001–02 season...
and Limerick F.C.
Limerick F.C.
Limerick Football Club is an association football club based in Limerick, Ireland. The club currently play in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The first Limerick FC was founded in 1937 and has had a number of guises through its history, known at different times as Limerick FC, Limerick...
in 2006. The association decided to set up a review of the awarding of a Premier Division licence to the club and eventually decided that the club should be stripped of the chance to compete in the Premier Division. Shelbourne had their Premier licence revoked and were, instead, considered lucky to be placed in the First Division for the 2007 season. There had been worries that the club would face outright extinction and that the FAI would throw the club out of the league altogether, especially after Limerick, who had less severe problems than Shelbourne, were denied a First Division licence. Liam Moggan, the chairman of the FAI's Licensing Committee resigned in protest after the decision was made to grant Shelbourne a First Division licence as he believed that the club - manager-less, player-less and heavily in the red - did not meet the criteria for the awarding of such a licence, even though its criteria were less strict than those required to pass for a Premier licence. It is probable that the Committee as a whole took an extremely sympathetic view while taking into account the long history of the club and, facing a minimal time-frame for exploring alternatives before the kick-off in March, logistical factors, such as ensuring that the league began with the preferred number of teams, when coming to a final decision to keep Shelbourne in the league.
However, the FAI did not specifically announce whether their decision was punishment for continuing off-the-field abuses from 2006, such as failing to pay players their wages, or whether it was a repercussion of Shelbourne failing to meet the requisite criteria for partaking in the 2007 Premier Division (although it is likely that the course of action taken was due to the latter as if it were a punishment for the 2006 season a deduction in points from that season's tally would be the usual penalty, which would have led to the club being stripped of their title in this scenario). If the relegation was indeed due to a failure to meet standards for 2007, the club's off-the-field abuses during 2006 remain to be seen as having being permissible for that season.
Meanwhile, Waterford United
Waterford United
Waterford United is an Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 and hails from Waterford. Originally the club was based at Kilcohan Park greyhound stadium, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports...
were invited to take Shelbourne's place in the Premier Division for 2007 as they were the next best-placed First Division club in the Independent Assessment Group's rankings. Waterford United accepted the invite, while the task of sourcing funds, a manager and squad before the transfer-deadline of 28 February remained at the fore-front of the club's worries by mid-February. On 23 February, Shelbourne announced that Dermot Keely
Dermot Keely
Dermot Keely, is the former manager of Irish football team Shelbourne.-Family:Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne, his brother Joe played on the same Home Farm FAI Cup winning side of 1775 as Dermot Keely himself...
had been appointed as their new manager. The signing of a new squad of players commenced immediately afterward - quite a few of these players being youngsters and loaned players from other clubs, although the club did also manage to entice a number of ripened seniors to Tolka Park
Tolka Park
Tolka Park is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne...
for the 2007 First Division season.
On 29 March 2007, Shelbourne finally relinquished all hopes of participating in the qualifying rounds of the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
for the 2007-08 European season after the club made an official announcement in relation to the matter. Before the statement, it had been far from certain that the club would have been granted the European licence required to compete anyway. Nevertheless, in deciding against competing, they cited reasons including the possibility that taking part with such a stunted team may actually damage the club's record and reputation, as well as contribute to a devaluation of the league's UEFA coefficient, which the club's past results had helped raise and consolidate over the previous number of seasons. The move opened the way for Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
to take the clubs place in the Champions League qualifying rounds, allowing St. Patrick's Athletic to enter the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
qualifying rounds in place of the promoted Derry City.
Player exodus to Britain
The close-period between the 2006 and 2007 seasons saw one of the biggest departures of senior talent from the league and across the Irish SeaIrish Sea
The Irish Sea separates the islands of Ireland and Great Britain. It is connected to the Celtic Sea in the south by St George's Channel, and to the Atlantic Ocean in the north by the North Channel. Anglesey is the largest island within the Irish Sea, followed by the Isle of Man...
in recent times. The heightening of the league's stature, substantially improved by the fortunes of clubs such as Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
and Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
on the European scene, as well as the success of the likes of Kevin Doyle
Kevin Doyle
Kevin Edward Doyle is an Irish international footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers....
, formerly of Cork City and one of the top-scorers in the FA Premier League's
FA Premier League
The Premier League is an English professional league for association football clubs. At the top of the English football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with The Football League. The Premier...
2006-07 season
FA Premier League 2006-07
The 2006–07 FA Premier League was the fifteenth season of the FA Premier League since its establishment in 1992. The season started on 19 August 2006 and concluded on 13 May 2007....
with Reading
Reading F.C.
Reading Football Club is an English association football club based in the town of Reading, Berkshire who currently play in the Championship...
, attracted attention from numerous managers in the Scottish Premier League
Scottish Premier League
The Scottish Premier League , also known as the SPL , is a professional league competition for association football clubs in Scotland...
and the English Football League
The Football League
The Football League, also known as the npower Football League for sponsorship reasons, is a league competition featuring professional association football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest such competition in world football...
. Some of the top players to depart included: the 2006 'Goalkeeper of the Year', David Forde, and the league's top-scorer from 2003–06, Jason Byrne
Jason Byrne (footballer)
Jason Byrne is an Irish football player, currently playing for Dundalk in the League of Ireland.-Bray Wanderers:...
, both of whom moved to Cardiff City
Cardiff City F.C.
Cardiff City Football Club are a Welsh professional football club based in Cardiff, Wales. The club competes in the English football pyramid and is currently playing in the Football League Championship. Cardiff City is the best supported football club in Wales, averaging approximately 22,500 for...
from Derry City and Shelbourne, respectively; the 2005 'Player of the Year', George O'Callaghan
George O'Callaghan
George Paul O'Callaghan, Jr., is an Irish football player who plays as an attacking midfielder for DPMM FC....
who departed Cork City for Ipswich Town
Ipswich Town F.C.
Ipswich Town Football Club are an English professional football team based in Ipswich, Suffolk. As of 2011, they play in the Football League Championship, having last appeared in the Premier League in 2001–02....
; Danny Murphy, who also left Cork and went to Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
; UCD
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...
players, Patrick Kavanagh
Patrick Kavanagh (footballer)
Patrick Kavanagh is an Irish football player who currently plays for Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland.Kavanagh's first clubs were Ballybrack and St Joseph’s boys where his talent was soon spotted by scouts....
and Gary Dicker
Gary Dicker
Gary Richard Perry Dicker is an Irish footballer currently contracted to Football League Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion. Dicker plays as a midfielder.-University College Dublin:...
(loan), who moved to Birmingham City
Birmingham City F.C.
Birmingham City Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, they became Small Heath in 1888, then Birmingham in 1905, finally becoming Birmingham City in 1943.They were relegated at the end of the...
; Colin Hawkins
Colin Hawkins
Colin Hawkins , is an Irish professional footballer. Hawkins is a central defender with Dundalk, and has represented the Republic of Ireland at youth and U21 levels.-Coventry City:...
, who transferred to Coventry City
Coventry City F.C.
Coventry City Football Club, otherwise known as the Sky Blues owing to the traditional colour of their strip, are a professional English Football league club based in Coventry...
from Shelbourne; and Trevor Molloy
Trevor Molloy
Trevor Molloy is a semi-professional, Irish football player who is currently playing for Bluebell United in the Leinster Senior League....
, the 2004 'Player of the Year', and Paul Keegan, who both moved from St. Patrick's Athletic to Motherwell
Motherwell F.C.
Motherwell Football & Athletic Club are a Scottish professional football club based in Motherwell, North Lanarkshire. The club compete in the Scottish Premier League and are one of only seven teams to have remained in this league since it was founded in 1998...
. On the managerial front, Stephen Kenny
Stephen Kenny
Stephen Kenny may refer to:*Stephen Kenny , Guantanamo detainee David Hicks' original lawyer*Stephen Kenny , Irish football manager...
also raised eyebrows with his exploits at Derry and the board at Dunfermline Athletic
Dunfermline Athletic F.C.
Dunfermline Athletic Football Club are a Scottish football team based in Dunfermline, Fife, commonly known as just Dunfermline. They currently compete in the Scottish Premier League....
gave him the job as manager.
FAI restrictions on free expression
After having fined Cork City manager, Damien RichardsonDamien Richardson
Damien John Richardson is an Irish football manager and former player. He currently has no club attachments, having left Cork City at the end of the 2007 season. Richardson formerly managed Gillingham in England and Cobh Ramblers, Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland.Richardson's father...
, during the 2006 season for critical comments he had made against a referee after a game, as well as handing him a four-match touchline ban, and comments from the then Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
manager, Gareth Farrelly
Gareth Farrelly
Gareth Farrelly is an Irish footballer. He currently plays for Warrington Town and Paul Hastings FC ....
, expressing that he felt gagged, the FAI continued to restrict critical opinions of their structures from individuals connected with clubs in the league. On 15 February 2007, Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
were requested by the FAI to remove a blog entry posted on their official website - CityWeb - by fan, 'MariborKev'. The entry, entitled "Another fine mess", which criticised the administration of the FAI in dealing with the financial irregularities at Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
, even went on to predict that the organisation would get in contact with the club over the post to demand its removal. The article was said to have breached terms of the Participation Agreement, which the club had signed in order to take part in the 2007 competition. As a result, the club's webmaster was forced to move the blogging system to a separate domain, unconnected to the official club site. A number of weeks later, on 6 March, it was revealed that the club had been fined €5,000 by the FAI. The body also made it known to the club that for every further day the offending article remained on the site, it would punish Derry by another €1,000. This was despite the fact the blogging area had been moved to another site weeks earlier. Derry City eventually had their punishment overturned after a successful appeal by the club's legal team.
Clubs information
| Team | Base | Manager | Main sponsor | Kit supplier | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Athlone Town | Athlone, Co. Westmeath |  O'Connor, MichaelMichael O'Connor (footballer born 1960) Michael O'Connor is a former Irish soccer player.He made his League of Ireland debut for Athlone Town on 4 March 1979. During his time at St Mels Park he was twice top scorer in the League of Ireland in 1981/82 and 1984/85... |
Ganly's Hardware | O'Neills O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. was established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland and has manufacturing plants in Dublin and Strabane.... |
Athlone Town Stadium | 6,000 |
| Bohemians Bohemian F.C. Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11... |
Dublin |  Connor, SeánSean Connor Sean Connor is a former footballer and manager currently without a club.-Playing career:Connor began his career at Distillery in the Irish League where he played for one full season before moving to Port Vale... |
Des Kelly Interiors | Diadora Diadora Diadora is an Italian football, tennis, running, cycling, rugby, athletic shoe, clothing, and fashion accessory manufacturer with locations in Italy, the United States, and Hong Kong.-History:... |
Dalymount Park Dalymount Park Dalymount Park is an Irish football stadium situated on Dublin's Northside. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as 'Dalyer' by fans, it was also historically the "home of Irish football" holding Irish internationals and FAI Cup... |
8,500 |
| Bray Wanderers | Bray Bray Bray is a town in north County Wicklow, Ireland. It is a busy urban centre and seaside resort, with a population of 31,901 making it the fourth largest in Ireland as of the 2006 census... , Co. Wicklow |
Gormley, Eddie Eddie Gormley Eddie Gormley is a former Irish football player and manager of Bray Wanderers.Gormley was a midfielder and played league football in England, Scotland and Ireland... |
Hard Metal | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Carlisle Grounds Carlisle Grounds The Carlisle Grounds is a football stadium in Bray, County Wicklow, Ireland, situated directly behind the Bray D.A.R.T. station. It is home to Bray Wanderers A.F.C. Its current capacity is roughly 3,000.-History:... |
7,000 |
| Cobh Ramblers | Cobh Cobh Cobh is a seaport town on the south coast of County Cork, Ireland. Cobh is on the south side of Great Island in Cork Harbour. Facing the town are Spike Island and Haulbowline Island... , Co. Cork |
Henderson, Stephen Stephen Henderson Stephen McKinley Henderson is an American actor.-Life and career:Henderson was born in Kansas City, Missouri, the son of Ruby Naomi and Elihue Henderson. He was originally part of Group 1 of the Juilliard Drama School, later finishing his degree at the North Carolina School of the Arts... |
Goodyear | Uhlsport Uhlsport Uhlsport is a manufacturer of football equipment. Based in Germany and founded in 1948, the company's products include goalkeeper gloves, football boots, shin pads, footballs, training clothes, and kits.... |
St. Colman's Park St. Colman's Park St Colman's Park is a football stadium in Cobh, County Cork. It is home to Cobh Ramblers F.C. of the Newstalk A Championship. The stadiums capacity is 5,000... |
5,000 |
| Cork City | Cork Cork (city) Cork is the second largest city in the Republic of Ireland and the island of Ireland's third most populous city. It is the principal city and administrative centre of County Cork and the largest city in the province of Munster. Cork has a population of 119,418, while the addition of the suburban... |
Richardson, Damien Damien Richardson Damien John Richardson is an Irish football manager and former player. He currently has no club attachments, having left Cork City at the end of the 2007 season. Richardson formerly managed Gillingham in England and Cobh Ramblers, Shelbourne and Shamrock Rovers in Ireland.Richardson's father... |
Beamish Beamish and Crawford Beamish and Crawford is the longest-established brewery in Cork, Ireland. Established in 1792 by William Beamish and William Crawford on the site of an existing porter brewery, it has had a number of owners over the centuries... |
O'Neill's | Turners Cross Turners Cross (stadium) Turners Cross is an all-seater football stadium located in and synonymous with the district of Turners Cross, Cork, Ireland. It is home to the Munster Football Association, and League of Ireland side Cork City FC.... |
8,000 |
| Derry City Derry City F.C. Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division... |
Derry Derry Derry or Londonderry is the second-biggest city in Northern Ireland and the fourth-biggest city on the island of Ireland. The name Derry is an anglicisation of the Irish name Doire or Doire Cholmcille meaning "oak-wood of Colmcille"... |
 Robertson, JohnJohn Grant Robertson John Robertson is a former professional association football player and is currently the manager of East Fife. His playing career included spells at Newcastle United, Dundee and Livingston but he is best known for his two spells at Heart of Midlothian... |
MeteorElectrical.com | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
The Brandywell | 7,700 |
| Drogheda United Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club hails from Drogheda, Ireland and, since 1979, plays its home matches at Hunky Dorys Park.... |
Drogheda Drogheda Drogheda is an industrial and port town in County Louth on the east coast of Ireland, 56 km north of Dublin. It is the last bridging point on the River Boyne before it enters the Irish Sea.... , Co. Louth |
Doolin, Paul Paul Doolin Paul Doolin is a former Irish footballer and manager.He played for Bohemians, scoring on his debut on 13 September 1981. In June 1985 he signed for Shamrock Rovers and in his three years at the club won the double twice scoring 30 goals in 107 appearances. In his first season at Milltown he was... |
Murphy Environmental | Jako Jako Jako AG is a German sportswear company based in the Hollenbach district of Mulfingen , Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded by Rudi Sprügel and his brother in 1989 in Stachenhausen... |
United Park United Park Hunky Dorys Park is a football stadium in Drogheda, Ireland. The ground has been home to League of Ireland side Drogheda United since 1979. The ground has a capacity of 2,000 with 400 seats... |
5,400 |
| Dundalk Dundalk F.C. Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The... |
Dundalk Dundalk Dundalk is the county town of County Louth in Ireland. It is situated where the Castletown River flows into Dundalk Bay. The town is close to the border with Northern Ireland and equi-distant from Dublin and Belfast. The town's name, which was historically written as Dundalgan, has associations... , Co. Louth |
Gill, John John Gill (football manager) John Gill is an Irish football manager whose last job was in charge of Dundalk FC. He is currently assistant manager of St. Pats.... |
IJM Timber Frame Company | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Oriel Park Oriel Park Oriel Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Dundalk, County Louth, Republic of Ireland. It is used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Dundalk F.C. Its current capacity is about 4,500 with 3,000 seats. The ground was opened in 1919.-History:... |
6,000 |
| Finn Harps | Ballybofey Ballybofey Ballybofey is a town located on the south bank of the River Finn, County Donegal, Ireland. Along with the smaller town of Stranorlar on the north side of the River Finn, Ballybofey makes up the Twin Towns.... , Co. Donegal |
Hegarty, Paul Paul Hegarty (Irish footballer) Paul Hegarty is a past Irish footballer and the current manager of League of Ireland First Division club Finn Harps.-Playing career:... |
Crawford Furnishings | PF Sports | Finn Park Finn Park Finn Park is a football stadium in Ballybofey, Ireland, the home of League of Ireland Premier Division team Finn Harps F.C., and has a capacity of 7,500 with 400 seats... |
7,900 |
| Galway United Galway United Galway United F.C. was founded as Galway Rovers in 1937. They are a football club currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of the Irish football.... |
Galway Galway Galway or City of Galway is a city in County Galway, Republic of Ireland. It is the sixth largest and the fastest-growing city in Ireland. It is also the third largest city within the Republic and the only city in the Province of Connacht. Located on the west coast of Ireland, it sits on the... |
Cousins, Tony Tony Cousins Tony Cousins is a former Irish footballer and the current coach of League of Ireland club, Longford Town. He is the older brother of Andrew Cousins and first cousin of Tommy Dunne.... |
Harrmack Developments Ltd. | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Terryland Park Terryland Park Terryland Park is a multi-purpose stadium in Galway, Ireland, owned by the Galway & District Football League. It is currently used for association football matches and has been the home ground of Galway United since 1977.- History :... |
4,500 |
| Kildare County Kildare County F.C. Kildare County F.C. was an Irish football club that played in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 2002, hailed from Newbridge, County Kildare and played their home matches at Station Road. Their club colours were white and black.- 2001/2002 :... |
Newbridge Newbridge, County Kildare The earliest known mention of Newbridge was by traveller and bookseller John Dunton in 1698, though he does not refer to any settlement other than at Ballymany.... , Co. Kildare |
Ryan, John John Ryan (footballer) John Ryan is an Irish football manager and former player.-Playing career:He made his League of Ireland debut for St Patrick's Athletic on the 4th of September 1988.... |
Swifts | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Station Road Station Road, Newbridge Station Road is a football park located in Newbridge, County Kildare. It is home to Leinster Senior League outfit Newbridge Town F.C.. It was also the home of now defunct Eircom League Division One side Kildare County F.C..... |
2,500 |
| Kilkenny City | Kilkenny Kilkenny Kilkenny is a city and is the county town of the eponymous County Kilkenny in Ireland. It is situated on both banks of the River Nore in the province of Leinster, in the south-east of Ireland... |
Rea, Brendan Brendan Rea Brendan Rea is a former Irish footballer and manager.He managed Kilkenny City and Waterford United. He took up the Kilkenny post in January 2007, replacing Adrian Fitzpatrick... |
The Kilkenny Voice | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Buckley Park Buckley Park Buckley Park is a multi-purpose stadium on the Callan road Kilkenny, Republic of Ireland. Kilkenny City purchased of land from a local farmer by the name of Mick Murphy for £16,000. The ground was originally called Tenney Park. It is currently used for football matches and was the home stadium... |
6,500 |
| Limerick 37 | Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the... |
McGee, Paul Paul McGee (footballer born 1954) Paul 'Skee' McGee is a former Irish football player and current manager of League of Ireland First Division club Salthill Devon.... |
Limerick's Live 95FM | Errea Erreà Erreà is a sportswear trademark founded in 1988, in Torrile... |
Jackman Park Jackman Park Jackman Park is a football ground in Limerick, Republic of Ireland located on the Lower Carey's Road, that is home to Limerick F.C. It is regularly used by almost every grade of football in Limerick, from schoolboy to women's international games. The capacity is 2,450. The ground has a single 261... |
2,500 |
| Longford Town Longford Town F.C. Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park... |
Longford | Mathews, Alan Alan Mathews Alan Mathews is a former Irish footballer and the current manager of League of Ireland First Division side Shelbourne.-Player:As a player, Mathews played for St... |
Flancare | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Flancare Park Flancare Park Flancare Park is a soccer stadium in Longford, Ireland. It is the home stadium of League of Ireland side Longford Town F.C.. Flancare Park has also held numerous international underage matches. The stadium underwent a huge redevelopment at the end of 2000/2001 season... |
4,500 |
| Monaghan United Monaghan United Monaghan United F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1979 and elected to the league in 1985, hails from Monaghan and play their home matches at Gortakeegan, Monaghan... |
Monaghan | Cooke, Mick |
The Squeeling Pig | Diadora Diadora Diadora is an Italian football, tennis, running, cycling, rugby, athletic shoe, clothing, and fashion accessory manufacturer with locations in Italy, the United States, and Hong Kong.-History:... |
Century Homes Park | 3,000 |
| Shamrock Rovers | Dublin | Scully, Pat Pat Scully Patrick Joseph "Pat" Scully is an Irish football manager, currently in charge of Limerick in the League of Ireland... |
Woodie's DIY | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Tolka Park Tolka Park Tolka Park is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne... |
12,000 |
| Shelbourne Shelbourne F.C. Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division.... |
Dublin | Keely, Dermot Dermot Keely Dermot Keely, is the former manager of Irish football team Shelbourne.-Family:Keely's family have played League of Ireland football at various levels. His late father Peter Keely played for Shelbourne, his brother Joe played on the same Home Farm FAI Cup winning side of 1775 as Dermot Keely himself... |
JW Hire | Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Tolka Park Tolka Park Tolka Park is an Irish football ground located in the north Dublin suburb of Drumcondra, on the northern banks of the River Tolka. It is currently the home ground of League of Ireland club Shelbourne... |
9,700 |
| Sligo Rovers | Sligo Sligo Sligo is the county town of County Sligo in Ireland. The town is a borough and has a charter and a town mayor. It is sometimes referred to as a city, and sometimes as a town, and is the second largest urban area in Connacht... |
 Cook, PaulPaul Cook (footballer) Paul Anthony Cook is an English former footballer, currently manager of Sligo Rovers in Ireland. He had a lengthy career, playing for a number of clubs in the Football League as a left sided or central midfielder before retiring from the game in 2006.-Playing career:Cook began his career at his... |
Toher's | Jako Jako Jako AG is a German sportswear company based in the Hollenbach district of Mulfingen , Baden-Württemberg. The company was founded by Rudi Sprügel and his brother in 1989 in Stachenhausen... |
The Showgrounds Showgrounds The Showgrounds is stadium in Sligo, which has been home of Sligo Rovers F.C. since the club was formed in 1928.- Biography :... |
5,500 |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | Dublin | McDonnell, John John McDonnell (footballer) John McDonnell is an Irish football former manager and player and current assistant manager of the Faroe Islands national football team.... |
Paddy Power Paddy Power Paddy Power is Ireland’s largest bookmaker. Offline it conducts business through a chain of licensed betting offices and by operating Ireland's largest telephone betting service. Online it offers sports betting, online poker, online bingo, online casino games and spread betting... |
Umbro Umbro Umbro is an English sportswear and football equipment supplier based in Cheadle, Greater Manchester, England. The company is now part of Nike. Umbro designs, sources, and markets sport-related apparel, footwear, and equipment... |
Richmond Park Richmond Park (football ground) Richmond Park is a football stadium in Dublin, Ireland. It is the home ground for Irish football team St. Patricks Athletic of the League of Ireland. It is situated in the Dublin suburb of Inchicore... |
5,500 |
| UCD University College Dublin A.F.C. University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have... |
Dublin | Mahon, Pete Pete Mahon Pete Mahon , is an Irish football manager who is currently the manager of St. Patrick's Athletic .His son, Alan Mahon , played all his career for UCD.... |
Budweiser Budweiser (Anheuser-Busch) Budweiser is a 5.0% abv American-style lager introduced in 1876 by Adolphus Busch and one of the highest selling beers in the United States. It is made with up to 30% rice in addition to hops and barley malt. Budweiser is produced in various breweries located around the world... |
O'Neills O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. was established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland and has manufacturing plants in Dublin and Strabane.... |
Belfield Park Belfield Park Belfield Park was the home ground of University College Dublin A.F.C. from 1930 until 2007. It was previously a walled garden of Belfield House.... |
2,500 |
| Waterford United Waterford United Waterford United is an Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 and hails from Waterford. Originally the club was based at Kilcohan Park greyhound stadium, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports... |
Waterford Waterford Waterford is a city in the South-East Region of Ireland. It is the oldest city in the country and fifth largest by population. Waterford City Council is the local government authority for the city and its immediate hinterland... |
Cronin, Gareth Gareth Cronin Gareth Cronin is former Irish player and manager.Cronin had been assistant manager to Dermot Keely at Cork City before the club went out of business in July 2006. The following month, Gareth Cronin became manager at Waterford United where he spent over two full seasons before leaving on the 17... |
Perennial Freight | Diadora Diadora Diadora is an Italian football, tennis, running, cycling, rugby, athletic shoe, clothing, and fashion accessory manufacturer with locations in Italy, the United States, and Hong Kong.-History:... |
Waterford Regional Sports Centre Waterford Regional Sports Centre The Waterford Regional Sports Centre is part of Waterford Corporation's Municipal sporting facilities and home to Waterford United of the League of Ireland .... |
8,000 |
| Wexford Youths | Crossabeg Crossabeg Crossabeg or Crosabeg is a small village in County Wexford, Ireland, just north of Wexford town. It contains The Forge Storytelling House, Foley's Pub and a primary school.-Sport:... , Co. Wexford |
Wallace, Mick Mick Wallace Mick Wallace is an Irish independent politician, property developer and former football manager.-Early life:He was born in Wellingtonbridge, Wexford... |
Wallace Construction | O'Neills O'Neills O'Neills Irish International Sports Company Ltd. was established in 1918. It is the largest manufacturer of sportswear in Ireland and has manufacturing plants in Dublin and Strabane.... |
Wexford Youths Football Complex | 5,000 |
Procedure
There are twelve participating clubs in the Premiership and ten participating clubs in the First Division for 2007. During the course of the 2007 season (which will last from March to November) each Premiership club will play the respective others three times. A pre-season draw decided which clubs will have the benefit of two home games in these matches. First Division sides will play each other four times throughout the season - two games at home and two games at the stadium of the opposition. Each team in the Premiership will play 33 matches in total during a season, while those in the First Division will play 36 games. Teams will receive three points for a win and one point for a draw. No points will be awarded for a loss. Teams will be ranked by total points, then goal difference and then goals scored. If there is equality in points, goal difference and goals for tallies, the clubs involved must partake in a play-off to decide their finishing positions. At the end of the season, the club with the most points in their division will be crowned as champion of that division. The lowest placed team in the Premiership is automatically relegated into the First Division and the top team from the First Division will be automatically promoted to the Premiership. In addition, the 2007 winner of the First Division will have a once-off play-off with the winners of the FAI League Cup for a Setanta Cup place. Furthermore, the second-last placed team in the Premiership will play either the second-best or third-best placed team in the First Division in a two-legged promotion/relegation play-off after the second-placed and third-placed teams play each other in a single play-off match. The second-placed team in this pairing will have home advantage with the winner of the game having the chance to play the 11th-place finisher in the Premiership both at home and away (with the First Division side being given the choice of home advantage in the first or second leg of the series). The aggregate winner of this two-legged tie will play the following 2008 season in the Premiership with the loser resigned to playing in the First Division. The team that finishes last in the First Division must re-apply to the FAI for membership to the following season's league.Qualification for 2008 European competitions
The top team in the Premiership will qualify for the UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
first qualifying round and must win three two-legged knockout ties against higher seeded and stronger opposition with progression in order to enter the group phase. The second-placed team qualifies for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
first qualifying round. They, similarly, must go through three two-legged knockout ties in order to enter the Second Round group phase of that competition. The third-placed team enter the Intertoto Cup. There is another UEFA Cup first qualifying round slot reserved for the winners of the domestic FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
. If it were to happen that a cup-winner has already qualified for the UEFA Cup via the league, the cup-win qualification will take prominence and the league-place qualification will be transferred to the next team who finished below them in the league. This, in turn, will also cause a downward transfer of the Intertoto Cup qualification place to the next team in line. However, if the case is that the cup-winner has already won the league, that team will take a place in the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, by way of its league-win, and the losing team in the FAI Cup final will take the UEFA Cup spot on offer from that competition.
Prize funds
Between the National League, FAI CupFAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
, League of Ireland Cup and the Setanta Cup a prize fund in excess of €1 million will be available. The FAI will be investing a total of €803,000 for prize funds in 2007. The prize fund for the Premiership in 2007 will reach €450,000 with the winner being awarded €225,000. The First Division winner's prize fund in 2007 will be €50,000, with €100,000 available in total. The following table gives a more detailed breakdown of the prize funds.
| Position | Premier Division | First Division | League Cup | Fair Play |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | €225,000 | €50,000 | €10,000 | €4,500 x 2 |
| 2 | €100,000 | €30,000 | €5,000 | €2,000 x 2 |
| 3 | €50,000 | €10,000 | €2,500 | |
| 4 | €25,000 | €6,000 | €2,500 | |
| 5 | €15,000 | €4,000 | ||
| 6 | €12,000 | |||
| 7 | €9,500 | |||
| 8 | €7,500 | |||
| 9 | €6,000 | |||
| 10 | ||||
| 11 | ||||
| 12 | ||||
| Totals | €450,000 | €100,000 | €20,000 | €13,000 |
Season
The league season kicked off on 9 March. Derry CityDerry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
were pitted as the favourites to win the Premier Division by numerous bookmakers, closely followed by Drogheda United
Drogheda United
Drogheda United Football Club is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club hails from Drogheda, Ireland and, since 1979, plays its home matches at Hunky Dorys Park....
and Cork City. Despite this, Derry City made a poor start to the season losing to strong title-contenders St. Patrick's Athletic and Drogheda United in their early-season confrontations. They also fell to Cork City at home in the fifth series of games to a score-line of 1-4. The last time Derry City conceded four goals at home in the League of Ireland
League of Ireland
The League of Ireland is the national association football league of the Republic of Ireland. Founded in 1921, as a league of eight clubs, it has expanded over time into a two-tiered league of 22 clubs. It is currently split into the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland...
had been when Cork City ran out 4-1 winners at the Brandywell in April, 2000. Meanwhile, St. Patrick's Athletic raced into an early-season lead at the top of the table, having won all of their first five fixtures.
Longford Town
Longford Town F.C.
Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park...
trailed at the bottom of the Premier Division after a poor start to the season and any chances of survival were damaged after they were punished with a 6-point deduction for failing to meet licencing requirements.
With a third of the season remaining Drogheda United had risen to the top of the Premier Division table and have since sealed the first league title in their history. On October 18 they beat Cork City 2-1 at United Park
United Park
Hunky Dorys Park is a football stadium in Drogheda, Ireland. The ground has been home to League of Ireland side Drogheda United since 1979. The ground has a capacity of 2,000 with 400 seats...
which guaranteed the title for them. It had looked like they might have possibly had to wait another week to wrap up the league but a strike from Guy Bates
Guy Bates
Guy Bates is an English footballer who plays for Black Bull FC in the Meath & District League.-Career:Bates joined his hometown club Newcastle United at the age of 8 in 1993...
in the last minute gave Drogheda victory on the night which was enough to see them become league champions. The relegation battle was very tight. Longford Town
Longford Town F.C.
Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park...
were bottom for the majority of the season, having been deducted six points but going into the final day of the season were just three points behind Waterford United and had a far superior goal difference. Longford did what they had to do by beating Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
3-1 but Waterford got a point which meant that Longford were relegated. Waterford were still not safe, though, as they had to play in the relegation/promotion playoff where they beaten by Finn Harps
Finn Harps F.C.
Finn Harps Football Club are a professional Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their home matches at Finn Park. The club's colours are blue...
which meant that they were still relegated.
The First Division was won by Cobh Ramblers
Cobh Ramblers F.C.
Cobh Ramblers Football Club . is an Irish football club playing in the A Championship, the third tier of Irish football. The club, founded in 1922 and elected to the league in 1985, hails from Cobh, County Cork and play their home matches at St. Colman's Park...
which gave them automatic promotion to the Premier Division. Finn Harps also got promotion after they defeated both Dundalk
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...
and Waterford United in the playoffs.
Score-card
The home team is listed in the left-hand column.| Bohs Bohemian F.C. Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11... | Bray | Cork | Derry Derry City F.C. Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division... | Drogs | Galway Galway United Galway United F.C. was founded as Galway Rovers in 1937. They are a football club currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of the Irish football.... | L'ford Longford Town F.C. Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park... | Rovers | Sligo | St Pat's | UCD University College Dublin A.F.C. University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have... | W'ford Waterford United Waterford United is an Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 and hails from Waterford. Originally the club was based at Kilcohan Park greyhound stadium, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports... |
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bohemians Bohemian F.C. Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11... |
||||||||||||
| 2-0 | 2-1 | 0-0 | 0-0, 1-1 |
1-1, 2-0 |
5-0, 0-0 |
2-1, 0-2 |
1-0 3-0 |
2-0 | 0-0, 2-0 |
1-0 | ||
| 1-0, 0-3 |
||||||||||||
| 1-1, 1-1 |
1-1 | 1-2 | 0-1, 1-1 |
1-3 | 0-2, 3-0 |
2-0, 2-1 |
0-0 | 2-1 | 2-1 | |||
| Cork City | 2-1, 0-1 |
2-2 | ||||||||||
| 1-1 | 0-0 | 0-0, 0-0 |
2-0, 3-2 |
0-0, 1-0 |
1-2 | 1-0, 0-1 |
4-1 | 2-0 | ||||
| 0-0, 1-2 |
1-0, 3-0 |
1-4, 1-2 |
||||||||||
| 0-1 | 0-0 | 3-1 | 1-0, 1-1 |
4-1 | 0-1, 1-0 |
0-1, 0-0 |
1-1 | |||||
| 1-0 | 4-1, 1-1 |
2-2, 2-1 |
2-1, 1-0 |
|||||||||
| 2-2 | 1-1 | 0-2 | 3-0, 1-0 |
2-0 | 3-2, 0-1 |
3-0 | ||||||
| 0-1 | 0-1 | 1-2 | 1-1, 1-0 |
2-3 1-1 |
||||||||
| 1-1, 2-1 |
1-1 | 0-2, 2-0 |
0-1, 0-1 |
0-0, 2-1 |
1-2 | |||||||
| 3-0 | 1-1, 1-0 |
1-2 | 0-0, 3-1 |
0-1, 1-2 |
0-3 | |||||||
| 0-3 | 0-1, 1-1 |
1-2, 2-1 |
1-0 | 1-0, 1-1 |
||||||||
| 0-0 | 1-0 | 2-0 | 1-1 | 1-2, 0-2 |
1-0, 4-0 |
2-0, 0-1 |
||||||
| 1-0, 0-0 |
0-0 | 2-0 | 2-0, 0-0 |
|||||||||
| 2-1 | 3-0 | 4-1, 0-1 |
0-2, 0-0 |
0-2 | 1-1 | 2-1 | 2-0 | |||||
| 0-4, 2-3 |
1-0, 2-1 |
1-1, 1-2 |
||||||||||
| 0-0, 0-1 |
3-1, 4-2 |
1-1 | 2-1 | 1-0, 0-0 |
1-2 | 4-2 | 2-1, 5-0 |
3-1 | ||||
| 1-1 | 3-0, 4-1 |
|||||||||||
| 1-0 | 2-0, 1-1 |
0-1, 1-2 |
1-1 | 0-1 | 2-2 | 2-2, 0-1 |
0-0, 2-4 |
0-2 | 2-2, 0-3 |
|||
| 3-0, 2-1 |
||||||||||||
| 0-1, 0-0 |
1-2, 0-0 |
1-0, 0-3 |
0-1, 2-1 |
1-1, 1-1 |
1-0, 0-0 |
2-1 | 0-2 | 1-2 | 2-1 | 1-3 | ||
Match was originally played on 18 May. However it was abandoned due to a loose floodlight pylon, which was deemed unsafe.
Table
| (C) | UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It... and Setanta Cup Setanta Sports Cup The Setanta Sports Cup, commonly known as just the Setanta Cup, is a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland... |
|||||||||
UEFA Cup The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League... and Setanta Cup Setanta Sports Cup The Setanta Sports Cup, commonly known as just the Setanta Cup, is a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland... |
||||||||||
| Bohemians Bohemian F.C. Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11... |
UEFA Intertoto Cup The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued... |
|||||||||
| Cork City | ||||||||||
| (P.R) | ||||||||||
| (R) |
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD= Goal difference; Pts = Points
C = Champions; P = Playoffs R = Relegated;
Longford Town
Longford Town F.C.
Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park...
deducted 6 points for failing to meet licensing requirements.
- FAI CupFAI CupThe Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
winners gain second available UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
place. This may be transferred to next best-placed team in league if Cup winners also finish in UEFA CupUEFA CupThe UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
qualification spot in league, while it may be given to Cup runners-up if Cup winners gain UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
place via league.
| Winner of League of Ireland Premier Division 2007 |
|---|
Drogheda United Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club hails from Drogheda, Ireland and, since 1979, plays its home matches at Hunky Dorys Park.... 1st Title |
Top goal-scorers
| Goalscorers | Goals | Team |
|---|---|---|
| David Mooney Dave Mooney Dave Mooney is an Irish footballer, currently playing for Leyton Orient.-Shamrock Rovers:Born in Dublin, Mooney joined Shamrock Rovers, his first senior club, in 2000 and scored in every round when Rovers' won the U17 All Ireland title against Kingdom Boys in 2002. He made his first team debut... |
||
| Mark Quigley Mark Quigley Mark Quigley is an Irish professional football player who currently plays for Dundalk.-Career:Quigley came to prominence as a schoolboy with noted Dublin club Belvedere from where he signed for Millwall in 2003. He spent the 2005 season at Shamrock Rovers where he made a total of 12 appearances... |
||
| Roy O'Donovan Roy O'Donovan Roy Simon O'Donovan is an Irish footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Coventry City. He has been capped for his country at Under-19, Under-21 and B level.-Club career:... |
Cork City | |
| Tadhg Purcell Tadhg Purcell Tadhg Purcell is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Darlington on loan from Northampton Town. His main position is striker although he can play on the wing.-Personal life:... |
||
 Fahrudin KudozovicFahrudin Kudozovic Fahrudin 'Faz' Kuduzović is a Bosnian professional footballer who currently plays for Eintracht Trier in the Regionalliga West in Germany... |
||
| Éamon Zayed Éamon Zayed Eamon Zayed is an Irish footballer of Libyan descent who currently plays for Derry City. He also writes a weekly column on League of Ireland website, extratime.ie.-Youth career:... |
||
| Andrew Myler Andrew Myler Andy Myler is a retired Irish footballer.Andy was signed by Shamrock Rovers from Longford Town in July 2006 making his debut against Galway United on 4 August.... |
||
| Matthew Judge Matthew Judge Matthew Judge , is a footballer who plays for Thurrock in the Conference South as a striker.Judge was with Tottenham Hotpsur for five seasons before joining Luton Town... |
||
| Denis Behan Denis Behan Denis Behan is an Irish professional footballer currently playing for Limerick in the League of Ireland First Division.-Youth level:... |
Cork City | |
| Glen Crowe Glen Crowe Glen Crowe is an Irish professional football forward who currently plays for Malahide United in the Leinster Senior League.... |
||
| Derek Glynn Derek Glynn Derek Glynn is a Irish football player and plays as a striker.He joined Galway United in 2007 from Claremorris AFC where he was top scorer in the Mayo league for 3 consecutive years earning him recognition as a striker with a keen eye for goal. Was the SWAI Player of the Month in June 2007... |
||
| Shane Robinson Shane Robinson Shane Robinson is an Irish football midfielder currently playing for Finnish Veikkausliiga club FC Haka. Scored 7 goals in his first season in Finnish football and won supporters player of the year 2011.... |
||
Roy O'Donovan
Roy O'Donovan
Roy Simon O'Donovan is an Irish footballer who plays for Football League Championship side Coventry City. He has been capped for his country at Under-19, Under-21 and B level.-Club career:...
no longer plays in the Premier Division.
Awards
eircomEircom
Eircom Group LTD is a telecommunications company in the Republic of Ireland, and a former state-owned incumbent. It is currently the largest telecommunications operator in the Republic of Ireland and operates primarily on the island of Ireland, with a point of presence in Great Britain.As Bord...
/Soccer Writers' Association of Ireland 'Player of the Month' award:
| Month | Name | Position | Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| March | Alan Kirby Alan Kirby Alan Kirby is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Sligo Rovers.Secured a bronze medal at the 1997 FIFA World Youth Championship .Scored in the 2004 FAI Cup Final .... |
Midfielder Midfielder A midfielder is an association football position. Some midfielders play a more defensive role, while others blur the boundaries between midfielders and forwards. The number of midfielders a team uses during a match may vary, depending on the team's formation and each individual player's role... |
|
| April | Brian Shelley Brian Shelley Brian Shelley is an Irish footballer currently playing Ballarat Red Devils.He began his career at Shamrock Rovers but moved to rivals Bohemians in 2000. He made his first team debut for the club as substitute in the UEFA Cup tie against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in September 2000... |
Defender Defender (football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
|
| May | Tadhg Purcell Tadhg Purcell Tadhg Purcell is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Darlington on loan from Northampton Town. His main position is striker although he can play on the wing.-Personal life:... |
Striker Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals... |
|
| June | Derek Glynn Derek Glynn Derek Glynn is a Irish football player and plays as a striker.He joined Galway United in 2007 from Claremorris AFC where he was top scorer in the Mayo league for 3 consecutive years earning him recognition as a striker with a keen eye for goal. Was the SWAI Player of the Month in June 2007... |
Striker Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals... |
|
| July | Matthew Judge Matthew Judge Matthew Judge , is a footballer who plays for Thurrock in the Conference South as a striker.Judge was with Tottenham Hotpsur for five seasons before joining Luton Town... |
Striker Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals... |
|
| August | Dave Mooney Dave Mooney Dave Mooney is an Irish footballer, currently playing for Leyton Orient.-Shamrock Rovers:Born in Dublin, Mooney joined Shamrock Rovers, his first senior club, in 2000 and scored in every round when Rovers' won the U17 All Ireland title against Kingdom Boys in 2002. He made his first team debut... |
Striker Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals... |
|
| September | Guy Bates Guy Bates Guy Bates is an English footballer who plays for Black Bull FC in the Meath & District League.-Career:Bates joined his hometown club Newcastle United at the age of 8 in 1993... |
Striker Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals... |
|
| October | Brian Shelley Brian Shelley Brian Shelley is an Irish footballer currently playing Ballarat Red Devils.He began his career at Shamrock Rovers but moved to rivals Bohemians in 2000. He made his first team debut for the club as substitute in the UEFA Cup tie against 1. FC Kaiserslautern in September 2000... |
Defender Defender (football) Within the sport of association football, a defender is an outfield player whose primary role is to prevent the opposition from attacking.... |
|
| November | Conor Gethins |
Striker Striker Forwards, also known as strikers, are the players on a team in association football who play nearest to the opposing team's goal, and are therefore principally responsible for scoring goals... |
Table
| (C.P) | Setanta Sports Cup The Setanta Sports Cup, commonly known as just the Setanta Cup, is a club football competition featuring teams from both football associations on the island of Ireland... qualification playoff |
|||||||||
| (P.P) | ||||||||||
| (P) | ||||||||||
P = Matches played; W = Matches won; D = Matches drawn; L = Matches lost; F = Goals for; A = Goals against; GD = Goal difference; Pts = Points
| Winner of League of Ireland First Division 2007 |
|---|
1st Title |
Top goal-scorers
| Goalscorers | Goals | Team |
|---|---|---|
| Conor Gethins |
||
| Davin O'Neill Davin O'Neill Davin O'Neill is a professional footballer who currently plays for Cork City in the League of Ireland.-Playing career:Davin won the League of Ireland First Division in 2007 with Cobh Ramblers and he was named in the PFAI First Division Team of the Year the same year... |
||
| Anthony Flood Anthony Flood Anthony 'Anto' Flood , is an Irish footballer who currently plays for Bohemians in the Airtricity League of Ireland, Flood plays as a striker.-St Patrick's Athletic:... |
||
| Philip Gorman Philip Gorman Philip Gorman is an Irish footballer currently playing for League of Ireland First Division side Shelbourne. Gorman plays as a striker.-Early career:... |
||
| Mark Leech Mark Leech Mark Leech , is an Irish footballer who last played for League of Ireland First Division side Shelbourne... |
||
| Graham Cummins Graham Cummins Graham Cummins is an Irish footballer who plays for Cork City in the League of Ireland. Graham plays as a striker.- Early career :... |
||
| Robbie Farrell Robbie Farrell Robbie Farrell is an Irish footballer currently playing for Athlone Town .He began his senior footballing career way back in the 1996/97 season when he made four appearances for Home Farm... |
||
| Stephen Parkhouse |
||
Includes 2 with
League of Ireland Clubs in Europe 2007
| Team | 2006 League Position | Competition | Reason |
|---|---|---|---|
| Derry City Derry City F.C. Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division... |
2 | UEFA Champions League (1st qual.) | League runners-up |
| St. Patrick's Athletic | 7 | UEFA Cup (1st qual.) | FAI Cup runners-up |
| Drogheda United Drogheda United Drogheda United Football Club is an Irish football club currently playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club hails from Drogheda, Ireland and, since 1979, plays its home matches at Hunky Dorys Park.... |
3 | UEFA Cup (1st qual.) | Third in League |
| Cork City | 4 | UEFA Intertoto Cup | Fourth in League |
UEFA Champions League
Shelbourne F.C.Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
looked set to qualify for the preliminary rounds of the UEFA Champions League
UEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
by way of winning the 2006 league. However by the beginning of the season their entry was cast into doubt due to financial problems at the club and worries that the club would fail to be granted a UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
licence. Should they have failed to be awarded a licence, Derry City F.C.
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
would have taken their place as a seeded team in the first qualifying round draw. With the future looking grim, Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
's board came to a decision itself on the issue and announced that it would opt out of competing in the competition in the interests of the league and the co-efficient
UEFA coefficients
In European football, the UEFA coefficients are statistics used for ranking and seeding teams in club and international competitions.The coefficients are calculated by UEFA, who administer football within Europe...
it had built up over the prior years. This made way for Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
to compete as runners-up in the league. They were defeated, however, by Armenia
Armenia
Armenia , officially the Republic of Armenia , is a landlocked mountainous country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia...
n Champions FC Pyunik
FC Pyunik
Pyunik Football Club , is an Armenian professional football club based in Yerevan. It is one of the most popular football clubs in Armenia. The club owns its private Nairi Stadium in Yerevan, but due to the bad infrastructure of the venue, Pyunik plays its home games in the Republican Stadium of...
in the First Qualifying Round. The first leg at the Brandywell finished goalless while Derry City succumbed to 2-0 loss in the second leg in Armenia to go out 2-0 on aggregate.
UEFA Cup
Derry City F.C.Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
initially qualified for the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
after winning the FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
in 2006. However, after they took Shelbourne's place in the Champions League, St. Patrick's Athletic, as 2006 FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
runners-up to Derry, took their place in the competition for 2007. Drogheda United F.C., who had originally qualified for the UEFA Intertoto Cup
UEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
, also qualified for the UEFA Cup despite having finished in third position in the final league table. At first they had taken the slot reserved for the second-placed finishers, who were Derry City, as Derry had already qualified via the FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
and transferred their slot. However, with Shelbourne opting out of European competition for 2007, Drogheda United where, in essence, the second-best finished team of the European qualifiers anyway. St Patrick's Athletic were eliminated in the First Qualifying Round. They drew the first leg at home 0-0 but were resoundingly beaten 5-0 away from home in the second leg against Odense BK
Odense BK
Odense Boldklub is a Danish professional football club based in the town of Odense. The club has won three Danish championships and five Danish Cup trophies. OB play in the Danish Superliga and their home field is TRE-FOR Park in Odense on Funen...
. Drogheda United came through their First Qualifying Round tie by beating A.C. Libertas
A.C. Libertas
A.C. Libertas is a Sanmarinese football club, based in Borgo Maggiore. The club was founded in 1928. Libertas currently plays in Girone B of Campionato Sammarinese di Calcio. The team's colors are red and white....
4-1 on aggregate. They did not progress any further, though, as they were defeated by Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
side Helsingborgs in the next round. The first leg finished 1-1 at Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park
Dalymount Park is an Irish football stadium situated on Dublin's Northside. It is the home of Bohemian F.C., who have played there since the early 20th century. Affectionately known as 'Dalyer' by fans, it was also historically the "home of Irish football" holding Irish internationals and FAI Cup...
with Henrik Larsson
Henrik Larsson
Henrik Edward Larsson MBE is a retired Swedish footballer and current manager of Landskrona BoIS.Larsson began his career with Högaborgs BK. He moved to Helsingborg, where he was one of the key players when they qualified to Allsvenskan 1993. Larsson then moved to Feyenoord for four years before...
netting for the Swedes and Eamon Zayed
Éamon Zayed
Eamon Zayed is an Irish footballer of Libyan descent who currently plays for Derry City. He also writes a weekly column on League of Ireland website, extratime.ie.-Youth career:...
scoring a second half equaliser for Drogheda. The second leg was goalless at half-time but three goals in the second half for Helsingborgs put them through at the expense of Drogheda by an aggregate score of 4-1.
UEFA Intertoto Cup
Cork City F.C. qualified for the UEFA Intertoto CupUEFA Intertoto Cup
The UEFA Intertoto Cup, also abbreviated as UI Cup and originally called the International Football Cup, was a summer football competition for European clubs that had not qualified for one of the two major UEFA competitions, the Champions League and the UEFA Cup. The competition was discontinued...
by way of finishing in fourth place in the final 2006 league table and having the entry transferred onto them from Drogheda, who initially had a UEFA Cup place transferred onto them. Shelbourne's withdrawal had no substantial effect on Cork City's qualification, other than promoting them to being the third-best finished team of the European qualifiers. Cork City won 2-1 on aggregate against Iceland
Iceland
Iceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic team Valur
Valur
Knattspyrnufélagið Valur is an Icelandic athletic club based in Reykjavík, Iceland. One of Iceland's most prolific clubs it celebrates its 100th birthday in 2011. The club is situated close to the city centre, in the traditional east side of town, at the old farmgrounds of Hlíðarendi...
in the First Round. In the Second Round, though, Hammarby IF
Hammarby IF
Hammarby Fotboll is a Swedish football club based in Johanneshov - just south of Södermalm, the southernmost district of Stockholm city centre...
knocked out the Rebel Army by the aggregate scoreline of 2-1 after a 1-1 draw at Turner's Cross
Turners Cross (stadium)
Turners Cross is an all-seater football stadium located in and synonymous with the district of Turners Cross, Cork, Ireland. It is home to the Munster Football Association, and League of Ireland side Cork City FC....
and a 1-0 victory for the Swedish
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
side at Råsunda
Råsunda Stadium
Råsunda Fotbollstadion, also Råsundastadion, Råsunda Stadium or just Råsunda, is a Swedish national football stadium. It is located in Solna Municipality in Metropolitan Stockholm and named after Råsunda, a zone of Solna.-History:...
.
2007 UEFA coefficient
The League's UEFA coefficient accumulates to a total value of 6.498 as of the 2006/07 European season. The coefficient achieved in 2007 is 1.000 which means their overall coefficient rose to 7.332.2007 national league UEFA ranking
Ranking going into 2007-08 European season:- 33
FinlandVeikkausliigaVeikkausliiga is the premier division of Finnish football, comprising the top 12 clubs of the country. Veikkausliiga is currently ranked as the 28th best league in Europe. Its main sponsor is the Finnish national betting agency Veikkaus, hence the league's name... - 34
Moldova - 35 Ireland
- 36
GeorgiaUmaglesi LigaThe Georgian Top League is the top division of football in Georgia. Since 1990, it has been organized by the Professional Football League of Georgia and Georgian Football Federation. From 1927 to 1989, the competition was held as a regional tournament within the Soviet Union... - 37
LiechtensteinLiechtenstein Football AssociationThe Liechtenstein Football Association is the governing body of football in Liechtenstein. It organizes the Liechtenstein national football team and the Liechtenstein football Cup. Due to the fact that Liechtenstein only has a small number of active teams, it is the only UEFA member without its...
Further information
With the financial collapse of Shelbourne after having won the 2006 title and the prospect of the club representing the eircom League in the UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
for the 2007-08 European season, there were worries that their participation and representation might have proven detrimental to the league's co-efficient, which had been steadily improving since the mid-2000s - so much so, that Shelbourne and Derry City were to be entered into the preliminary qualifying round draws for that season's competitions as seeded teams.
With the commencement of the 2007 season approaching, however, it began to look increasingly unlikely that Shelbourne would in fact be permitted by the FAI to represent the league in Europe after the association revoked the club's Premier Division licence and resigned it to competing in the 2007 FAI First Division
FAI First Division
The League of Ireland First Division is the second tier of the Republic of Ireland's national football league, the League of Ireland. The division was formed in 1985 as a result of the decision to split the League of Ireland into two divisions, which also created the League of Ireland Premier...
. It was also uncertain as to whether Shelbourne would be awarded with a required UEFA licence. By March, the Shelbourne board came to a decision to withdraw from the competition.
On 17 April 2007, five eircom League clubs were awarded UEFA
UEFA
The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer....
licences by the FAI's First Instance Committee. The clubs to be awarded with licences were Derry City, St. Patrick's Athletic, Drogheda United, Cork City and UCD
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...
. UCD received a licence as they were still in with a chance of competing in the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
by way of Ireland being awarded a place via the UEFA Fair Play ranking
UEFA Fair Play ranking
The UEFA Fair Play ranking has been used by UEFA since 1995 to grant three berths for the first qualifying round of the UEFA Europa League.-Current club qualification system:...
. However Ireland did not score the required the points total for UCD
University College Dublin A.F.C.
University College Dublin Association Football Club known commonly as UCD is the football team of University College Dublin. They play in the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1895 was elected to the league in 1979 under the management of Dr. Tony O'Neill. Since the 2008 season they have...
to be entered in the draw.
League of Ireland Cup
The first two rounds of the competition were drawn on a regional basis with the Third Round being the first 'open' draw. Whilst all of the league's European entrants for 2007-08 received a bye into the Second Round, the First Round saw the Premier Division's Longford TownLongford Town F.C.
Longford Town F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the League of Ireland First Division. The club, founded in 1924 and elected to the league in 1984, hails from Longford, County Longford and play their home matches at Flancare Park...
go out 5-4 on penalties to Athlone Town of the First Division after the tight game went to extra-time and finished 1-1. Meanwhile, First Division leaders, Dundalk
Dundalk F.C.
Dundalk Football Club is a professional Irish football club based in Dundalk, County Louth. The club currently play in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. Founded in 1903, they are the second most successful team, in terms of trophies won, in the history of the League of Ireland. The...
were knocked out by Shamrock Rovers in a game which finished 1-0. Bohemians
Bohemian F.C.
Bohemian F.C. , more commonly referred to as Bohemians, is a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. Bohemians compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the third most successful club in League of Ireland football history, having won the League of Ireland title 11...
knocked out their fellow Premier Division counterparts, Bray Wanderers by a 3-1 score-line to set up an all-Dublin Second Round tie with Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
, who received a bye as they were still officially classed as European entrants at the time of the draw. Bohemians won this clash 2-0, with former Shelbourne player Glen Crowe
Glen Crowe
Glen Crowe is an Irish professional football forward who currently plays for Malahide United in the Leinster Senior League....
netting both of the goals.
The Quarter-Finals were played on the 2nd and 3rd of July. The results were as follows
U.C.D. 2-1 Finn Harps
Finn Harps F.C.
Finn Harps Football Club are a professional Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 1954 and elected to the league in 1969. They hail from Ballybofey, County Donegal and play their home matches at Finn Park. The club's colours are blue...
Bohemians 3-2 Cork City
Cobh Ramblers 1-2 Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
Shamrock Rovers
Shamrock Rovers F.C.
Shamrock Rovers Football Club are a professional football club from Dublin, Ireland. They compete in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland and are the most successful club in Irish football history. The club have won the League of Ireland title a record 17 times and the FAI Cup a record 24...
1-0 Athlone Town
Athlone Town A.F.C.
Athlone Town F.C. is an Irish football club from Athlone, playing in the League of Ireland. The club was founded in 1887. First elected to the League of Ireland in 1922, they play their home matches in Lissywoollen their new stadium which opened in 2007...
The first Semi-Final took place on Aug 7, 2007 with the result being:
Bohemians 1-0 Shamrock Rovers Report
The second semi-final took place on Aug 28, 2007 the result was:
Derry City 3-0 U.C.D. Report
Final
The 2007 winner of the League of Ireland Cup will contest a play-off with the winner of the 2007 First Division for a 2008 Setanta Cup place.Media coverage
Broadcasting partners of the FAI - Setanta SportsSetanta Sports
Setanta Sports is an international sports broadcaster based in Dublin, Ireland. Setanta Sports was formed in 1990 to facilitate the broadcasting of Irish sporting events...
, TG4
TG4
TG4 is a public service broadcaster for Irish language speakers. The channel has been on-air since 31 October 1996 in the Republic of Ireland and since April 2005 in Northern Ireland....
and RTÉ
RTE
RTÉ is the abbreviation for Raidió Teilifís Éireann, the public broadcasting service of the Republic of Ireland.RTE may also refer to:* Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, 25th Prime Minister of Turkey...
- agreed to televise over 50 live games in the 2007 season. The agreed games included FAI National League games, as well as Setanta Cup matches and FAI Cup
FAI Cup
The Football Association of Ireland Challenge Cup, known as the FAI Ford Cup for sponsorship reasons, is a knock-out association football competition contested annually by teams from the Republic of Ireland...
matches. TV3
TV3 Ireland
TV3 is a free-to-air commercial television network in the Republic of Ireland. Launched on 20 September 1998 it was Ireland's first commercial broadcaster. The channel is owned by TV3 Group a subsidiary of Doughty Hanson & Co.-The TV3 Group:...
also agreed to continue showing their highlights programme, eircom League Weekly
Eircom League Weekly
eircom League Weekly was the name of a weekly football programme on TV3 in Ireland which ran from October 2002 to November 2007, which showed highlights from the League of Ireland. The show was presented by Trevor Welch, who was regularly accompanied by analysts Paul Osam and Pat Fenlon. The show...
, on a Monday night each week. Fans hoped that the newly revamped league along with extra funds being spent on publicity by the FAI would warrant a new era of attention being given to the competition. Nevertheless the unpopular late Monday night slot of 11:30 pm reserved for eircom League Weekly was unchanged and TV3 planned to continue airing the programme at this time.
FIFA's two-club ruling
A significant number of players, who had already played with two clubs within the year prior to the season's kick-off, were left ineligible to play for their clubs until July at the beginning of the season as FIFA'sFIFA
The Fédération Internationale de Football Association , commonly known by the acronym FIFA , is the international governing body of :association football, futsal and beach football. Its headquarters are located in Zurich, Switzerland, and its president is Sepp Blatter, who is in his fourth...
rules, or, in particular, Article 5.3 of FIFA’s Regulations for the Status and Transfer of Players, stated that no player could play for more than two different clubs between 1 July of one season and 30 June of the following year. The highest-profile members of the group of ten were the Irish
Republic of Ireland national football team
The Republic of Ireland national football team represents Ireland in association football. It is run by the Football Association of Ireland and currently plays home fixtures at Aviva Stadium in Dublin, which opened in May 2010....
internationally-capped midfielders Gareth Farrelly
Gareth Farrelly
Gareth Farrelly is an Irish footballer. He currently plays for Warrington Town and Paul Hastings FC ....
and Colin Healy
Colin Healy
Colin Healy is an international footballer for the Republic of Ireland national football team, currently a free agent after having his contract terminated by mutual consent at Ipswich Town Fc.-Early career:...
. Both players had agreed two-year deals with Cork City but their clearance failed to come through from FIFA due to the fact that they had each been registered to two other clubs since 1 July 2006. Among the other Premier Division players hit with the ruling were: Bray Wanderers midfielder Alan Cawley
Alan Cawley
Alan Cawley is a footballer who last played for Portadown in the IFA Premiership.Before signing for Leeds United Alan attended Summerhill College in Sligo. Alan began his career at Leeds United and had a spell at Sheffield Wednesday before returning to Ireland to sign for UCD...
; Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
striker Peter Hynes
Peter Hynes
Peter Hynes is an Irish footballer. He also works as a lorry driver.-English career:Hynes began his career as a trainee with Aston Villa where he played in Villa's 2002 FA Youth Cup winning side and turned professional in November 2000...
; and Ray Scully
Ray Scully
Ray Scully is an Irish footballer who last played for Shelbourne. Scully primarily plays as a midfielder but also plays at right-back.-Early career:...
of Waterford United
Waterford United
Waterford United is an Irish football club playing in the First Division of the League of Ireland. The club was founded and elected to the league in 1930 and hails from Waterford. Originally the club was based at Kilcohan Park greyhound stadium, but have now moved to the Waterford Regional Sports...
.
The Football Association of Ireland
Football Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
argued to FIFA that, as they ran a league with an unconventional Summer season out of tandem with the calendar of most other European national leagues, around which the rule was based, such circumstances ought to be permissible for players playing in the League. However, with two weeks of the league season completed, the association had yet to come to an agreement with FIFA. As a result, in failing to ensure that the clubs under its jurisdiction would be able to field their full squads at the outset of the season, the FAI came in for criticism. Numerous fans of the league condemned what they viewed to be carelessly negligent short-sightedness on the part of the association.
By 23 March 2007, three of the group were cleared to play by FIFA. The players who were cleared to play were Gary Rogers
Gary Rogers
Gary Rogers is an Irish footballer playing with in the League of Ireland.-Shelbourne:Rogers played with non-league side St Francis F.C. when he was younger and was spotted by Dermot Keely and was brought to the Shelbourne youth team. While with the youth team, he had a trial at Stockport County...
of Galway United
Galway United
Galway United F.C. was founded as Galway Rovers in 1937. They are a football club currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division, the top tier of the Irish football....
, Alan Cawley of Bray Wanderers and Shaun Holmes
Shaun Holmes
Shaun Holmes is a Northern Irish footballer.-Career:He had previously played for Derry City F.C. in the League of Ireland but was released by the club on 14 December 2006, as he was not seen as being a fundamental part of Pat Fenlon's plans...
of Finn Harps, while decisions on the remainder were not expected for another week. On 2 April, it was announced that Colin Healy and Gareth Farrelly both failed to gain clearance to play for Cork City. While the FAI had taken the cases forward to FIFA on behalf of most of the players, it was Cork City who decided to have their own legal team represent their two players.
It was announced on 5 April that Peter Hynes had received clearance by FIFA. This concluded the wait for decisions on all ten players as the remainder (bar the two Cork City players) were also given exemptions. The other players cleared were: John Brophy
John Brophy (footballer)
John Brophy , is an Irish footballer currently playing for in the League of Ireland First Division. Brophy is primarily a striker and has also played in central defence.-Career:...
and Mark Leech
Mark Leech
Mark Leech , is an Irish footballer who last played for League of Ireland First Division side Shelbourne...
of Shelbourne
Shelbourne F.C.
Shelbourne Football Club is an Irish professional football club based in the Drumcondra area of Dublin, currently playing in the League of Ireland Premier Division....
; Willie Doyle of Monaghan United
Monaghan United
Monaghan United F.C. is an Irish football club playing in the Premier Division of the League of Ireland. The club, founded in 1979 and elected to the league in 1985, hails from Monaghan and play their home matches at Gortakeegan, Monaghan...
; and Ray Scully. In the meantime, Cork City suggested that they would be appealing FIFA's decision not to grant their two players clearance on 18 April 2007 by the 20 April deadline. The club made a 'strongly worded submission' to FIFA in relation to the issue asking FIFA to reconsider and were in consultation with people within the game, in legal circles and even those involved in politics. FIFA rejected Cork City's appeal on 23 April but the club stated that they may take the case to the Court of Arbitration for Sport as a last resort. When they did eventually take the case to this stage, it was once again decided against their favour, meaning that the two players had to wait to July until they could represent Cork City.
Attendances
The league reported a significant increase in attendance figures for the opening weekend of the season with the average gate up 17 per cent from the same weekend in 2006. A total of 20,632 people paid into 11 fixtures on the opening weekend of the season. This equated to an average attendance of almost 1,900 which, compared with the 1,600 mean figure from a year previously, represented an increase of 17 per cent. The figures constituted an early success for the newly appointed National Club Promotions Officer, Noel Mooney, who was appointed to co-ordinate the new Club Promotions Officers at 16 eircom League clubs.With the attendance figures eclipsing the projected targets, Mooney commented:
The improved attendance rate was maintained as the season progressed as a total of 97,656 patrons attended fixtures over the first six weeks season. The figure for the same period for the 2006 season was just 65,828, with the average attendance of 1,480 per game throughout the 2007 Premier Division and 2007 First Division equating to a massive rise of 37 per cent in attendances.
FIFA 08
On 8 June 2007, it was announced that the FAIFootball Association of Ireland
The Football Association of Ireland is the governing body for the sport of association football in the Republic of Ireland. It should not to be confused with the Irish Football Association , which is the organising body for the sport in Northern Ireland.For the full history, statistics and records...
had teamed up with Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts
Electronic Arts, Inc. is a major American developer, marketer, publisher and distributor of video games. Founded and incorporated on May 28, 1982 by Trip Hawkins, the company was a pioneer of the early home computer games industry and was notable for promoting the designers and programmers...
and that the League of Ireland would feature in the FIFA 08
FIFA 08
FIFA 08 is the 2008 installment of EA Sports' series of football video games. Developed by EA Canada, it is published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released on all popular gaming formats in September 2007 in Europe, Australia, and Asia, and in October 2007 in North...
computer game; the first time for the league to feature in the FIFA Series
FIFA Series
FIFA, also known as FIFA Football or FIFA Soccer, is a series of association football video games, released annually by Electronic Arts under the EA Sports label...
. Top players from the league, including Derry City
Derry City F.C.
Derry City Football Club is a professional football club based in Derry, Northern Ireland. It plays in the League of Ireland Premier Division...
's Pat McCourt and Joseph Ndo
Joseph Ndo
Joseph Cyrille Ndo is a Cameroonian international football player, born in Yaoundé, currently registered with Sligo Rovers in the League of Ireland Premier Division.-Cameroon:...
of St. Patrick's Athletic, were present at the official announcement and photocall of the deal which took place in Temple Bar
Temple Bar, Dublin
Temple Bar is an area on the south bank of the River Liffey in central Dublin, Ireland. Unlike the areas surrounding it, Temple Bar has preserved its medieval street pattern, with many narrow cobbled streets. It is promoted as "Dublin's cultural quarter" and has a lively nightlife that is popular...
, Dublin on 11 June 2007. It was confirmed that all 12 teams in the Premier Division
FAI Premier Division
The League of Ireland Premier Division is the top tier of the Republic of Ireland's national football league, the League of Ireland. At the top of the Republic of Ireland football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. Contested by 10 clubs, it operates a system of...
of the FAI League of Ireland will be featured in the game. At the event, Fran Gavin, Director of the FAI League of Ireland said:
External links
- Website of the eircom League
- The Football Association of Ireland
- Irish Football Online
- Eleven-a-side.com
- Irish Football Grounds
- Foot.ie supporter forum
- eircom League preliminary fixture list (Correct prior to potential alterations due to match-clashes with games in other competitions featuring eircom League teams)
- FAI Rule Book
- ExtraTime.ie
- Irish Tifo Forum
Footnotes
Liechenstein has no properly recognised league championship. Therefore, the country has no UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions League
The UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
entrants, although the cup
Liechtenstein football Cup
The Liechtenstein Football Cup is Liechtenstein's premier football competition, and has been organised annually by the Liechtenstein Football Association since 1946. The winner qualifies to take part in the UEFA Europa League....
winners enter the UEFA Cup
UEFA Cup
The UEFA Europa League is an annual association football cup competition organised by UEFA since 1971 for eligible European football clubs. It is the second most prestigious European club football contest after the UEFA Champions League...
.