FAI calendar plan to impact North Tipp Leagues
By Gary Culbert
News broke last week that the Football Association of Ireland’s Director of Football Marc Canham is planning to introduce a unified calendar schedule across the FAI’s affiliates by January 2026.
A similar proposal was recently trialled and narrowly rejected by the clubs that make up the North Tipperary & District League (NT&DL).
Reaction to the news locally has been broadly negative. When prompted for comment, stakeholders in the NT&DL and NTSFL (North Tipperary Schoolchildren’s Football League) conveyed their genuine fear for soccer in the region if the FAI’s plans are implemented.
It is thought that Canham’s proposal would see the soccer season run from February to November. The big issue locally with that being competing sports, mainly the GAA.
Parents and coaches of underage teams fear the worst if this change is implemented, kids are struggling to manage as it is, training almost every day of the week, this will only force kids to choose one sport to focus on or hugely add to risk of injuries if the child decides to play multiple sports during the congested summer period.
It is thought that children in rural areas will be affected most by the change, but it is not only the child that will have to choose; many of the volunteers that are the backbone of soccer clubs participate in more than one sport and other organisations such as the Community Games. The unified calendar schedule will leave parents and volunteers having to choose as well.
However, the reaction has not been completely negative as parents can see the possibility to play more evening games in the summer when kids are off school, and that it will be less likely for games to be postponed due to bad weather. It is also fair to say that the GAA, rugby, and soccer calendars already overlap at times as it is.
In the NT&DL, the majority voted to return to winter soccer after a two year trial, and many still hold those views, but vote was very close; one changed vote would have resulted in an even split.
The attendance at matches has definitely dropped since reverting to a winter schedule, and this season has been fairly disjointed due to match cancellations caused by poor weather.
Some will argue that a solution could be found in investing in more floodlit and astroturf facilities that would ensure games during the winter season are unaffected by bad weather. Whilst others will argue that it’s time for soccer to be brave and stand on its own two feet, and to field teams independent of GAA players if so be it. However, the reality of that would be a short term drop in competitiveness of some teams as “we have players from upwards of 10 GAA clubs, in a strong GAA county like Tipperary soccer will never win out if players are forced to choose, especially at a younger age,” said one local stakeholder.