League of Ireland clubs will meet in Dublin this evening to discuss the implementation from the start of next season of new rules relating to club finances and, in particular, the percentage of turnover that can be spent on paying players.
The aim of the meeting will be to explain the mechanics of how the "salary cap" will be enforced as well as to make clear precisely which types of income will count towards turnover for the purposes of calculating the maximum permissible wage bill.
By the end of the week, league officials will have also started the process of recruiting clubs for the new "A Championship" which is to be started next march, almost certainly on a regional basis.
The new division will operate in the same season as the Premier and First do at present but have less stringent requirements, thereby allowing stronger junior and intermediate clubs to consider making the step up to the League of Ireland over a period of time.
Existing Premier Division clubs will be obliged to enter a reserve team while first division sides will have the option.
"The aim here is to put in place a route that a small club in, say, Tipperary can follow up the divisions and all the way to Europe if it gets its act together," said league director Fran Gavin. "The same applies to providing a path for players to follow all the way to the highest possible level. It's about allowing clubs and players to reach their full potential."
Newspaper advertisements are due to appear over the coming days seeking expressions of interest from clubs with regard to the "Championship" and Gavin says there have already been a number of inquiries.
Matches in this year's league, meanwhile, continue to attract significantly larger crowds than last season, according to the league's latest figures. Some clubs have questioned the wisdom of persisting with summer football given the difficulties they have encountered attracting paying customers, but official attendances, though still far short of what is desired, continue to run at around 30 per cent higher than in 2006.
"A couple of clubs have been unhappy but we believe that in most cases the lack of proper promotion has been a major issue," said Noel Mooney, the league national promotions officer, yesterday. "We're working hard with the clubs to address that while we're very encouraged by what has been achieved elsewhere so far."
Gavin also said the league had submitted a proposal to Fifa, asking it to amend its rules and avoid a repeat of this year's problem with the registration of players who have moved from a winter to a summer league, having already played for more than one club during the calendar year commencing July 1st. No decision on the move is expected until January 1st next year.
