Here’s a sobering statistic. There are more people working full-time in the youth section of Luton Town than in the entirety of the League of Ireland academy structure.
or the guidance of 145 young footballers, Luton have 24 full-time staff and between 25-30 operating in a part-time capacity.
In Ireland, there are still certain Premier Division clubs without a person working permanently in this area.
When you consider that players are now staying at home for longer because of Brexit, spending the key years of 16-18 in this country unless they go to Europe, it’s an absurd state of affairs. Volunteerism can only bring you so far in professional sport.
The presence of FAI employee Barry Ferguson, the father of Evan, outside the launch of the new underage LOI football season yesterday provided topical subject matter for subsequent discussion with Richard Dunne.
He was there in his capacity as an ambassador for EA Sports’ continued sponsorship of the U-14, U-15, U-17 and U-19 (men’s) and U-17 and U-19 (women’s) leagues.
LOI academy development manager Will Clarke and former Ireland international Richard Dunne with Sam Curtis of St Patrick’s Athletic and Jessie Stapleton of Shelbourne at the launch of the EA SPORTS LOI Academy development programme held at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown, Dublin. Photo by Piaras Ó Mídheach/Sportsfile
Dunne is a former team-mate of Ferguson Snr at Home Farm and it was interesting to hear him speak about a desire to work as a manager in the LOI because of the talent you can work with now.
While Evan is a poster boy for everyone from St Kevin’s Boys to Bohemians to the concept of a kid playing men’s football at home before going to Brighton, he was allowed to leave at 16 whereas other kids of his 2005 generation had to stay at home until 18.
Various publications – including this one – mistakenly put that down to his mother hailing from England but we were since contacted by informed sources to say that there is no basis in the rules for that.
There’s an element of confusion that will presumably be clarified but there appears to be a last chopper out of Saigon element about the whole thing. Not that anyone is complaining.
Loopholes are trickier to find now, so the game here has no option but to take responsibility for itself. This is crucially important if we want players like Evan Ferguson in the future.
It can be a hard sell to drive home the importance of this. There were no TV or radio stations at yesterday’s lunchtime event in Abbotstown where Will Clarke, the LOI’s academy coordinator, held court.
Clarke presided over the St Joseph’s Boys academy before taking his role with the LOI, an important piece of information because of the credibility it gives him; he understands the realities on either side of the fence.
The creation of the national underage leagues under Ruud Dokter was contentious because traditional schoolboy nurseries were frozen out of the process.
Ireland and Brighton’s Evan Ferguson benefited from his move to England at 16. Photo by Sportsfile
It remains a source of tension but Brexit changes have confirmed that the LOI need to be at the forefront of any plan going forward and what’s happened since is that a number of sharper minds from the old schoolboy network have gravitated towards league jobs.
Too much of Irish football politics is wrapped up in badges and leagues and territory rather than locating the best way to get the best coaches working with the best players in the best facilities and the best environment.
In truth, the palace intrigue of power struggles have dominated discourse in recent years at the expense of debates around things that can make a difference for the future. Hence why low-key presentations like the one delivered by Clarke at FAI HQ really do matter.
There has been a rebrand in name from the National Underage Leagues to the Academy Development Programme, which the FAI say is about a switch away from a competition-led environment. At U-14 level, there will be no league tables with a cup the only visible reward.
The FAI are also pressing on with a future developers project that allows clubs to nominate a small number to play a year overage; this is part of tackling the impact of the relative age effect with research clearly showing that kids born in the opening months of the year are to the fore because registration windows favour them.
Of the 1,902 players registered in 2022, 37pc were born in January-March, 28pc in April-June, 22pc in July to September and just 13pc in October to December. This follows through to the numbers that gain pro contracts.
However, the most significant body of work is the process that clubs are about to be put through as part of the introduction of a tiered categorisation of the LOI academies.
The bracket they are put in will effectively determine the level of funding they qualify for in the hope – and this is obviously a key point – that Government support is coming. Clubs who want substantial support will need to make commitments around education and paid staff.
Behind this plan basically lies an admission that splitting funds evenly amongst 20 clubs arguably makes little sense when some are more invested in the benefits of youth development than others. Tough but necessary decisions are around the corner but a framework is needed for them to secure that funding.
Time is of the essence. Another thing to note about the Luton trivia? In England, they are classed as a Category 3 academy, a depressing stat that should serve as motivation to get moving.
