The European stage in football consists of some of the most prestigious club competitions including the Champions League, Europa League and the more recent Europa Conference League in which millions of football fans watch the matches and travel across Europe to support their team. However, the structure of these competitions means that it is incredibly difficult for teams from smaller European nations to qualify for the European competitions.
For Irish clubs, only the winning team of the League of Ireland automatically reach the qualification stages but an Irish team has only qualified twice. In 2011, Shamrock Rovers beat Partizan Belgrade to become the first Irish team to qualify for the group stages of the Europa League but unfortunately they lost all their group matches and were then out of the cup in a historic season for the Irish team. Later in 2016, Dundalk also reached the Europa League group stage and picked up 4 points but it wasn’t enough to reach the knockouts. While the bookies in Ireland offered from great odds on Dundalk reaching the Europe League, they were never favourites for reaching the top.
Unfortunately, an Irish team has never made it to the Champions League group stages. But why is it so important for Irish teams to compete in Europe?
Why is European Football So Important?
For smaller clubs like teams in the League of Ireland, dreams of qualifying for European competitions not only provides more exposure for the club but is also hugely significant due to the prize money teams can earn by just reaching the group stages. The current prize pot spread across the teams in League of Ireland is €765,000 for the 2024 season. However in comparison, when Shamrock Rovers reached the Europa League group stage in 2011, they received €3 million and would have received an extra €500,000 for each match won.
Clubs in European football competitions now receive payouts for participating, how far they get in the competition and other bonuses which provides a huge boost in revenue and would be vital for the smaller clubs if they could reach the group stages more often.
What Can Irish Teams Do to Compete in Europe?
More focus should be put on Irish teams to try and win in the qualifying stages to reach European competitions. There are many different factors the clubs can incorporate to help them improve and compete better in Europe.
- Keep Talent in Ireland
To be able to win in Europe, Irish teams need to have a strong and talented team of players. Many Irish teams sell their young talent to other English leagues such as the Premier League, Championship and lower leagues to have money coming in but sometimes it is necessary to retain the talent for longer to strengthen the team and help with better results and more success. Signing good players on longer contracts is also essential to ensure the team improves instead of only thinking about the money from selling players.
- Better Funding/ Sponsorships
More money from funding and sponsorships can go a long way into helping improve the Irish teams’ performance in Europe. Once the teams have the talent and funding, they will gradually improve and begin to earn money from being able to compete in Europe by getting further than the qualifying rounds and reaching the group stages. This becomes a cycle of more money each season which will steadily increase as the teams get better.
- Improve Facilities and Development
To be able to compete at the same level as the clubs in European leagues, the training facilities need a huge improvement to provide players with the best conditions to increase player performance, physical strength and skill. Improved facilities will also help to reduce injuries and improve the service provided for injuries and the players’ rehabilitation. Similar to keeping Irish talent, there also needs to be improvement in the development of young players too.
- Increase Fans and Crowds
Exposure to the League of Ireland needs to be increased with the help of advertising, TV coverage and simply more people talking about it to get even more people interested. Once the crowds begin to grow with more fans going to the matches, buying shirts and merchandise, the revenue will also increase and this is a helpful step in reaching Europe levels. TV coverage should also be more extensive and not just limited to Ireland with streams being made available internationally.
Will Irish clubs Compete in Europe?
Overall, there is a long way to go before Ireland will become a strong competitor in European competitions but it is possible if the clubs focus on funding, keeping Irish talent for longer and improving the training facilities. The money that is available in European competitions is vital for all the smaller clubs in Europe as well as the exposure that performing at the European top level will also bring.
