ALL-ISLAND LEAGUE
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KIERAN LUCID
hile former Minister for Tourism, Sport and Transport Shane Ross and new FAI interim CEO Gary Owens and his deputy Niall Quinn were standing on the steps of Government buildings on January 31st unveiling a new financial rescue package for the association, clubs from north and south were 50 miles away at the Crowne Plaza in Dundalk for the latest presentation by Kieran Lucid’s All-Island League Advocacy Group. Lucid’s ambitious proposals looked dead in the water when the IFA released a statement in October of last year saying that the association was against any merger with their southern counterparts and that it would not sanction its clubs to take part in any new allisland competition. Undeterred, however, Lucid and his team continued to explore the idea and after a meeting with the IFA, the group announced that three stakeholder meetings, facilitated by Dutch consultants Hypercube, would take place in Belfast, Dublin and Dundalk at the end of last month. With the IFA sceptical about a unification of the leagues, alternative formats and proposals (see page 43) were presented at the Crowne Plaza with Lucid setting a deadline of the end of March for clubs to decide whether they’re in or out. Gavin McLaughlin caught up
with the Kerry entrepreneur after the meeting. GMCL: Kieran, can I ask you what were you thinking back in October when you read the IFA statement. KL: It was unexpected and I was disappointed but when we met with the clubs, from north and south, in Dundalk before that, they said they still wanted to be involved and we went with that. That’s what has caused us to remain with it. Hypercube have also been brilliant in that they’ve almost agreed with the IFA in that this wouldn’t be their recommendation and they’ve broadened it out to include other options. I think the IFA appreciate that Hypercube have made a strong case for change based on data. We meet the IFA again on the week of February 13th and we will keep them up to date with the process. They’re engaging with us, at least, which is a positive move but I can’t predict what will one out of it. GMCL: You did meet with the IFA. Were they surprised by the amount of data and detail you have gone into? KL: I’m not sure but we had a constructive meeting with them. Look, they want the best for their clubs, as we do, and I think they’re eager to see the results of the study. GMCL: You presented a lot of different formats and scenarios today and one of the comments that really struck me was that you didn’t
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want to be associated with a ‘Mickey Mouse’ cross-border competition. KL: Absolutely, I think that is a big fear. It needs to have a sporting prize at the end of it in the way of some UEFA qualification or something that gives the games some meaning, rather than just being a ceremonial tournament. We don’t want that. It’s a scale of one to 10. We want to go for 10, whereas we obviously wouldn’t go for one but we have no idea where things will land on that scale. We have to take account of not only the Irish FA’s views but the likes of the Linfield, Crusaders and Glentoran fans. They might be in a similar position to the Irish FA where they don’t want to go for the 10. GMCL: What did you think of the Unite the Union Cup? In one sense, it showed the level that the Irish League clubs need to get to, and that might not be a bad thing, but lots of people used it as an example of why an all-island league competition just wouldn’t work. KL: I think the Unite the Union Cup made the case for a sporting prize at the end of it, rather than it being a standalone tournament. I was slightly surprised because Linfield performed really well against Qarabag in the summer but the fact it was in the middle of the Irish League season meant their ‘bread and butter’ competitions would always take precedence.
