League of Ireland prize fund ‘not where it should be’ says FAI

As the prize fund for the 2023 League of Ireland season remains unchanged, the league’s most senior official, Director Mark Scanlon, admits that the gap between domestic and European earnings for clubs is a concern.

ut there will be some significant changes to the domestic game in 2023 which kicks off next month, with confirmation of a minimum wage and minimum contract length of 48 weeks for professional players, inclusion of a clause in the Standard Player Contract which bans players from betting on any football activity worldwide.

In addition, there will be a tweaked disciplinary system which will allow players to contest red card for wrongful dismissal, as well as the option for clubs to seek a rugby-style “citation” for incidents which the match officials may have missed. 

The winners of the Premier Division title will, again, pocket €125,000, with a payment of €75,000 for the runners up, while the winners of the First Division take home €36,000. The FAI did increase the prize fund in 2019 and removed the controversial affiliation fees (€17,000 and €8,000) but the fund for the league (€650,000 overall) remains unchanged, a disappointment for many clubs especially as clubs competing in Europe earn €350,000 for getting through just one round. 

“We’d love to see the prize fund increase,” Scanlon said at a media briefing at FAI HQ. “The key point for us is the competitive balance in the league, at the moment the gap between the prize money in our league – and in a lot of the small leagues across Europe – and the money that the clubs receive in European competition is quite big.

“The prize fund isn’t where we’d want it to be right now, it has increased over the last few years, 30% over the last three seasons, which is important as it’s a move in the right direction but we are ambitious, we want it to be higher, the prize fund is not the only way to increase revenue to the clubs, there are other way. So if we had an opportunity to increase revenue and increase the prize fund, it would be something we’d do as soon as possible but there are other key areas we want to invest in as well. It won’t just be the prize fund that will transform the fortunes of clubs or make the football industry in this country more sustainable.”

A second tier for the Women’s National League is planned for 2025 but a third tier in the men’s league remains on hold, while the League Cup, on hiatus since Covid, is also off the agenda for the time being.