Concern grows over future of Donegal football with FAI's plan for calendar season

Donegal Junior League secretary Nigel Ferry has expressed concerns at the FAI’s plans to synchronise all adult and underage football leagues across the country to the one calendar year schedule.

Speaking to DonegalLive, Ferry admitted he was taken by surprise at the development, revealing his frustration with the fact that the news was released to the media before the organisers of county leagues had received any official notification.

A calendar season would see all leagues, the Donegal Junior League, Inishowen League, Inishowen Ladies League, Donegal Women’s League and the various underage divisions all play during the one season.

There are also well-founded fears over the availability of sufficient match officials to cover the increased volume of games. Local officials also cover the underage League of Ireland games involving Finn Harps and Derry City, which has placed something of a strain on the whistlers in recent seasons.

In 2018, Donegal Junior League club delegates gave a resounding no to introduce a calendar football season. At that point, senior FAI officials, including then President Donal Conway and Ger McDermott, who is now the Grassroots Director, attended a meeting in the Mount Errigal Hotel. Firm opposition was levelled at the suggestion.

The now-defunct Ulster Senior League moved to summer football in controversial circumstances in 2007 when then League Chairman Eamon McConigley’s casting vote resulted in the move.

Summer football was retained by the USL in January 2014 after a Fanad United motion was narrowly defeated by just one vote.

However, later that year delegates voted 12-3 to return to an August-May season. There are still those who place much of the USL’s ills down to its demise during the summer spell when a large swathe of clubs left the intermediate grade.

A meeting will be held on Thursday evening between the FAI and leagues in the north-west of Ireland at the Radisson Blu Hotel, Letterkenny, to discuss changes.

“I’m a little bit surprised that the announcement was released before consulting with the clubs,” said Ferry.

“They should’ve listened to the people from grassroots football first, took our opinions on board and then they could’ve built a plan around that. The people who are the bones of Irish football, they should’ve at least had a say in it.”

With a high demand for pitches, and many players also involved in other sports in the summer, Ferry believes that this could have a seriously detrimental effect on the growth and development of soccer in Donegal.

“I’m involved in the administration of the Junior League as the secretary and I know this isn’t going to make much difference to administrators running leagues. But it will impact the players.

“At the minute, we’ve added a third division to the Saturday league because there was such a demand from clubs to put in reserve teams.

“But, to be honest, if we go down the summer route and end up clashing with the GAA and other sports, I don’t think these teams will be in existence because it will affect the number of people that will be able to play both sports at the same time.

“The overlap of playing junior football in the winter months has worked over the last few years, simply because there is less pressure when looking to access facilities and pitches.

“I think the demand for pitches with this new format is going to be a big problem. I can name many clubs in Donegal that have up to ten teams playing on the one pitch.

“You now have to condense all that into the one calendar year and that’s going to cause severe pressure for everyone”.

And for that reason, Ferry anticipates that underage structure will suffer the most.

“Ultimately, because the adult teams usually take precedence in these situations, it’s going to be the schoolboys sides and the underage teams that will be hit hardest.

“That, as a result, doesn’t help the development of underage football. It also forces young people to make a decision between GAA or football. And that in itself has a negative effect too. So none of this is helpful.”

Ferry points out that if football schedules are pitted against the GAA calender, their games may be forced to switch to Friday nights, which will have an effect on League of Ireland crowds.

“I think what the FAI hasn’t taken into consideration is how this could impact on League of Ireland football also.

“We look at how the League of Ireland crowds have been growing in the last number of years.

“But if you start forcing junior football teams and schoolboy teams to play their football on a Friday night to avoid a clash with GAA games, that is going to have an impact on League of Ireland attendances.”

Meanwhile, Diarmuid O’Brien, PRO of the Inishowen League, has echoed his Donegal League counterpart’s grievance at the lack of communication and consultation between the FAI and the junior leagues.

“The FAI flirted with this idea six years ago and I remember, even back then, it was overwhelmingly rejected by the leagues. Therefore, I’m very surprised that this has come around again. It really is out of the blue.

“I’m just surprised because this is not the feedback that was given to Marc Canham last year when he was doing his roadshow up and down the country.

“This affects football, not just in Donegal. It will have a massive impact all along the western seaboard.

“I think the only county that plays calendar football is Mayo, everyone else plays adult football in the winter months and underage in the summer.”

O’Brien warned that the move could also put grassroots volunteers under serious duress.

“I don’t know how no one thought to themselves the impact this will have on the demand for volunteers.

“A lot of volunteers help with the underage during the summer, coaching as well as other crucial roles within clubs.

"And the majority of those same individuals, when that all finishes, then help out with the adult teams in the winter.

“But the crossover and workload that will be in front of them now, it’ll turn many of them away completely.”