The Quick Rise of The League of Ireland

[@billmiller2368]

I love the league of Ireland. I am an American but I have gone to visit and saw Cork city play and they won the first division last year. It’s a great league but it has a similar problem that American soccer has. It’s the third biggest sport in Ireland and as long as great athletes and fans want to watch other things it’s going to suffer.

[@FootballAlways]

100% agree with you Good to see some LOI fans from abroad

[@davidpryle3935]

billmiller. 100% correct. Isn’t it strange that an American can call out the league of Ireland’s main difficulty, no problem, and many people in Ireland itself can’t, or won’t. Preferring to look for all sorts of scapegoats instead.

[@oliver69cork46]

Soccer is the biggest most participated sport in Ireland and gaa second.

[@zombievikinggaming4258]

It will never be a big sport in Ireland and that's fine. There are more important things to worry about

[@oliver69cork46]

@@zombievikinggaming4258 what wont be à big sport in ireland ? Dont say its not football because unless youre hoppelessly misinformed or whatever ,football is by far the biggest sport considering participation, fan base and how many go cross channel each year? 120,000 estimated in 2022.Loi is behind but is the biggest league in any sport. Not many bigger things after to worry about!!!

[@mikeytarpey4934]

Thanks for making this - the league has had unbelievable drama this season and I think that most people have missed out out because of the lack of TV deals

[@FootballAlways]

Hopefully Virgin Media continue to show more games on 2024

[@Gartho2000]

I go to every rovers game, the attendance has been unbelievable near to sold out stadium nearly every game, we broke the attendance record against Bohs last month and again at shelbourne the other week. League is growing and I’m delighted

[@robbieclark2263]

Brilliant work, my buddy. Been going to Shamrock Rovers since 93. Now based in Spain. Very disappointed with Irish TV stations of late. Great to see LOI go bigger. Keep it up mate. Great content.

[@justaboutaverage9558]

I do find It funny how for a league called "the forgotten child of Irish football" it seems like the shining light in these relatively dark days of Irish football

[@paulcolin9926]

True against all the odds

[@ja1295]

As a lad from belfast we need a province cup to get the irish prem and LOI teams playing each other 🔥

[@Ricky_Baldy]

There have already been a few attempts at that. For various reasons it never worked

[@MacTheCelt301]

Great Video! I really enjoyed this. I think your idea to have a minimum of at least 1 LOI player in the squad is a great idea. Subscribed

[@xCobraHDx]

The League of Ireland rule is quite interesting and I would like it to happen, you have earned a new subscriber

[@FootballAlways]

Cheers mate apricate it!

[@dazzer273]

It has a tremendous distance to go in terms of overall improvements but the last 5 years has certainly progressed. Considering it’s neglected by the governing association, lacks support from local population, competes against more popular sports and has no real revenue streams it certainly punches above its weight.

[@dannyd96]

It’s a miracle the league still exists given the decades of neglect it has suffered. All of this recent progress has been achieved in spite of the FAI. Now imagine if the sports’ governing body in Ireland actually gave a toss.

[@gerrystack2923]

Kerry man myself. Great video

[@ryanwhelan4810]

Same I'm from Dingle hbu

[@Beanbag777]

I think it’s important to cover the reasons why the league is growing 1) Dundalk and Rovers doing well in Europe a few years ago 2) clubs developing community links 3) The development of underage leagues 4) Promotion of family nights out and children’s for free 5) more players staying at home - quality improves 6) The spiralling costs of travelling to the UK to watch clubs 7) Young lads who love being ultras and having somewhere to go on a Friday night (no pyro no party ) 8) LOI players being recognised and going abroad or even making the national squad on occasion 9) promotion from KZbin vloggers from UK and Ireland 10) Jordan Flores viral goal ………

[@AidanMadden]

I would have liked to see more in this video about why the audience is growing

[@sustainableselfrelianceire8768]

yes I thought was the point. @@AidanMadden

[@rpirl]

A lot of players for the national team in recent years started their careers in the LOI. Doyle, McClean, Coleman, Stevens, Hoolahan, Fahey etc. This boosts its status and also helps clubs get a bit more exposure in the UK and elsewhere. Damien Duff and Stephen Kenny are two high profile personalities with strong connections to the league. LOI players look the part these days, they look like professional footballers. Pitches are better (thanks to summer football) and it helps improve the product.

[@greatestgoals2617]

Best Suggestion: Have 1 player from the league be added to the National Squad everytime by agreement

[@nigefal]

They used to that unofficially years ago when Glen Crowe was picked for the Ireland squad.

[@eileenmolyneaux1043]

BEST PICS OF kerry'S GROUND i'VE SEEN FANTASTIC PIECE OF JOURNALISM AND GREAT TO HEAR ABOUT 1ST DIVISION ATTENDANCES BRILL INFO WELL DONE.MORE COMPOSIT INFO ON APPALLING SITUATION WITH GROUND CONDITIONS-ATTITUDE OF FAI AND DEPT OF SPORT(HAHAHA YEAH) SHOULD HAVE BEEN PROVIDED-MY ONLY CRITICISM

[@scorelineupdate129]

Sport is massive in Ireland as the story goes Roy Keane could have picked boxing over football and now with UCF been new huge sport in Ireland with the Irish Football team competed with so many another sports like Golf is massive In Ireland that All before GAA.

[@Anpuca24]

League of ireland should get a share of sponsorship of broadcast afterall millions of euro are spent in watching in homes and pubs on subscription fees

[@xJR0G15x]

I always been fond of Scottish league thanks to the Rangers and Celtic rivalry, I’m glad to see these leagues making noise.

[@JackMcGowan-u2e]

would be great as a derry fan to see derrys journey to the league

[@tonydalton459]

There’s a very good RTE documentary covering Derry’s entry to the league.

[@rpirl]

Not a bad video but dunno why you're trying to suggest players coming back to the LOI towards end of careers as an 'idea'. Duff, Daryl Murphy, Colin Healy, Joey O'Brien, Stephen McPhail and others have already done this.

[@Raoulmoat1]

Can we get a video about Kenny’s time with Dundalk? Taking them from relegation to Europe. Would be a class video!

[@pminch]

I think it would be more important to try to develop a club in every county so people feel more of an association with their "local" team. I was a Kilkenny City fan and went to most of their games when I was growing up. I also support Blackburn Rovers. I've lived in Dublin now for almost 10 years and I'll go to an odd game in Tallaght or Inchicore as a neutral. It's just not the same as actually supporting a club. I don't support a LOI team anymore but seeing as I supported Blackburn all my life, I'll always follow them.

[@FootballAlways]

I think that's a good point I grew up going to 2 or 3 Cork City games a season but I live in Kerry so with the addition of Kerry FC I go to almost every game and feel a much bigger connection and sense of local pride

[@ConciergeConfessions]

I acutally wrote a story about an american football manager that coaches an irish football team

[@woutervanderheijden5068]

How about merging with the other league on the island? Could result in some great matchups i believe... thoughts?

[@FootballAlways]

Couldn't see it happening unless a United Ireland would occur first

[@woutervanderheijden5068]

would love to see the sport grow in both Northern as well as in the republic. Cross border league would be a step in the right direction in my opinion. Im not even Irish though, but i would love to see it happen.

[@dxfifa]

The way UEFA works means there is a decent incentive for NI clubs to try to make a run in Europe

[@Joxer123]

You've a few fair points but the mandatory LOI player in Ireland squads and reasoning behind it is wishful thinking at best. It's never going to happen, but if there was a place reserved for a LOI player it'd be a squad member that would never get any game time and would essentially just be a chance to train with the national setup. There would be zero reason for someone to leave League Two and above to go back to Ireland just to be a token player. Training facilities and the coaching/development setup in the LOI is miles behind English teams, not to mention the average wage being much lower unless you're a top player at the likes of Rovers, Derry, Pats, or possibly Dundalk and Bohs. Even so, if you're a top player in any of those teams you'll likely be good enough to go over to League One and up and fighter for a place in the national team on merit. It would essentially be career suicide for someone to join the LOI purely on the basis of wanting a reserved spot. IMO there's a tendency of us LOI fans to overrate our players because we see them perform well week in week out when in actuality they're playing at a comparatively low standard with some standing out amongst the rest. The bottom line is the LOI is held back by lack of investment and until facilities are modernised, decent wages are on offer (its getting better), and the grassroots are better taken care of then we wont be able to reach our potential as a league. We need to abandon the idea of bringing home finished players (Damien Delaney, Daryl Murphy, and Duff were all dreadful when they made their LOI cameos) because it doesn't attract people to games and only stops young talent from getting game time. The LOI doesn't have to pretend its a high quality league, it can sell itself on its own merit by promoting the positives it does have. Decent quality players with the odd up and coming gem, by and large a competitive league, and most of all passionate fans who live and breath Irish football and create atmospheres that even outsiders acknowledge are impressive. If we continue as fans to paper over the cracks and turn a blind eye to the many faults of our league then we're only promoting a product that doesn't exist in reality.

[@benmcelwain]

League of Ireland needs another league in my opinion with teams from counties who don’t have a local, example, Monaghan United, Kilkenny City etc: Will be great as there’s counties like Monaghan, Cavan, Kilkenny, carlow, Laois etc that don’t have a local league of ireland team.

[@FootballAlways]

It definitely would be better to see teams separated throughout the country opposed to being mainly in Dublin However I think it would be better to add teams to the 2 divisions instead of adding a completely new league

[@benmcelwain]

@@FootballAlways Monaghan united vs kerry Fc, We will be there

[@JulianOconnell-ks2uw]

There’s meant to be a third div coming no one knows when tho

[@raymonddixon7603]

We have had Thurles, Monaghan, Kilkenny, Newcastle West, Kildare and all failed miserably!! In rural communities there is still great antipathy towards soccer encouraged by the GAA and people at a higher level in politics. As John Caulfield said recently at the Annual FAI awards in relation to funding, that most TD's have never been to a LOI match, never mind funding it. Soccer is funded by most countries in Europe. Most of the grounds are municipal and are funded by local councils in their cities. All we have got is Tallaght Stadium. LOI soccer survives by shear will of the clubs and they have done an amazing job!!!

[@paulcolin9926]

Good point about the politicians in rural areas never thought about that they really are a drain and bunch of useless good for nothings in Ireland even more than other places

[@DOGGIED84]

There needs to be more investment in the league.

[@FootballAlways]

The government seems not to care

[@terrywhite7190]

You haven't explained WHY crowds have increased so dramatically.

[@paulcolin9926]

People have realised it's better than they thought

[@HamzaZaid-n2n]

@@paulcolin9926not really that professional but if ur local then just go

[@imeldamullane5479]

My local is kerry fc also

[@ffdgefhhwsfhdfbvd]

yup the town 🤍🖤

[@JulianOconnell-ks2uw]

LOITV is my worst enemy

[@CKW10001]

That is ridiculous to get players in the national team. Honestly tokenism isn't worth it. As someone who works in the league the funding needs to be increased..

[@mikeyoc24]

The one that should be mentioned in this video is while football in Ireland is growing in popularity unfortunately the powers that be in government don’t care probably because of how badly the fai has been run in years gone by. Anyone wanna rob a bank or try and convince a Saudi to invest in Irish football?😂😂

[@ranchoop3694]

Cmon the wanderers❤❤🕊🕊

[@josephm.d.p.finnegan]

Little Shamrock Humiliated in Europe last year TWICE by a club from Iceland and Hungary. The League is punching well below their weight in Europe. Big Problem is as always club boards constantly selling their best players aboard to overseas teams, No wonder they get hammered in Europe year after year. The clubs boards are fools acting like unofficial feeder clubs to European and UK teams.

[@LOIANDCOBHRAMBLERSGUY]

Come on Cobh ramblers

[@eileenmolyneaux1043]

wexford getting a new ground...great...Finn harps new stadium..a la the land of never...laughable