An All-Ireland Football League?

For years now there has been intense debate on the Island of Ireland about whether there should be an All-Ireland soccer league.

Many have waded in giving their views, both for and against the idea. Most of the opposition has come from North of the border, with the former IFA president Jim Boyce saying that it could never work, and current IFA president Raymond Kennedy planning ahead for the future of the current IFA Premiership.

But many have also voiced for the proposition to be considered—perhaps the highest profile voice is the now-deceased George Best, who claimed it would be a no-lose situation.

Personally I am all for an All-Ireland league.

For years now, local football fans have been flocking across the Irish sea every weekend to watch teams like Celtic, Rangers, Man Utd, Liverpool, Arsenal, Everton, etc..

That leaves the local clubs to salvage any fans they can from the local area to watch their team in action.

It is a far throw from the 1940s, when regular crowds of 50,000 would watch teams like Shelbourne and St. Patrick's Athletic in the South, and Belfast Celtic and Linfield in the North.

Surely it's time that the local clubs claimed their crowds back and made Irish football once again an attractive proposition.

As it stands at the minute there is no chance of this happening. The leagues aren't competitive enough as it is always the same teams in the leading positions come the final weekend of the season.

There is also very little money going into the local game, meaning clubs cannot afford to make their players professional, and therefore the skill level doesn't improve.

With a lower skill level than counterparts in mainland Britain and continental Europe, it is also a struggle for any sort of Irish team to make an impact on the European game, and also forces the top players from both countries to plough their trade in England and Scotland.

Therefore it is time for an All-Ireland league. The benefits are endless—with an All-Ireland league will come more interest from fans. Currently the only way they can watch a team from the North playing a team from the South is either a friendly or in the Setanta Cup.

An all-island league would allow this to happen every week and would attract major interest from fans.

This in return would appeal to sponsors, who would be happy to pour big money into the game in return for a higher interest from spectators. More money equals more players having the chance to become professional without having to leave home, and in turn increasing the skill level of the players.

It wouldn't just be players who would benefit from increased income. The clubs could improve facilities, which are currently of a poor standard, for players, fans, and media.

Bigger, more modern stadiums could be built to accommodate more fans and entertain both media and sponsors, raising the profile of the game.

And it wouldn't just be beneficial at home—it would give the clubs a better chance of competing in European competitions. An Irish team has never reached the group stages of the UEFA Champions League, and only once in recent times has an Irish team reached the first round proper of the UEFA Cup.

This could all change under a new structure, and it wouldn't just be the major teams that would profit from the new structure.

With the IFA having 29 teams scattered across two lower leagues and the FAI having 10 teams in their second-tier division, a larger lower-league format could be devised to allow teams to compete on a greater basis.

This would give similar results to the top tier, where better stadiums could be built and more players could become professional. And of course both national teams would benefit from having a greater pool of players to choose from—or even merge to create a single national team?

After all there is an All-Ireland team in rugby and the Olympics, so why not football?

So in my opinion an All-Ireland league is the best way to go. It benefits clubs, players, fans, sponsors, media, and the game as a whole. In the new multi-cultural and peaceful Ireland, surely it is now time for the island's most popular game to lead the way into the future.