REGARDING ALL IRELAND PREMIER LEAGUE
(01 Feb 2008)
STATEMENT RE: ALL IRELAND PREMIER LEAGUE
The promoters of the All Ireland Premier League welcome the joint announcement of the FAI and the IFA today (Friday, February 1) insofar as it relates to their proposals.
The announcement is welcome in a number of respects. Firstly, it acknowledges our work, its relevance and importance by including the idea of the All Ireland League in such an important joint communiqué. Secondly, the statement reiterates that any such initiative would require the support and active involvement of the two associations – a point we have acknowledged in all of our deliberations and which we had made crystal clear to the Chief Executives in our discussions with them before Christmas.
We would welcome the appointment of a joint working group to assess the potential of an All Ireland League and are confident that our proposal will meet with their approval.
The domestic professional game on both parts of the island is in an extremely perilous financial position. A radical and relatively speedy response is required. We have been working since October on developing such a solution and will only bring forward something that has the potential to create an economically sustainable professional game in Ireland.
We want to thank everyone who continues to assist us in that work and particularly the clubs north and south which have engaged with us in such a progressive and professional manner.
ENDS