All-Ireland league: Push for cross-border merger continues
- Published
The inaugural Unite the Union Champions Cup will take place between Linfield and Dundalk over two legs in November
Talks are ongoing about the possibility of merging the Irish Premiership and League of Ireland.
Kerry businessman Kieran Lucid's team are proposing an all-Ireland 14-team Premier Division, with two 10-team regional leagues below it.
Clubs from both sides of the border will meet Dundalk on Thursday night to discuss the proposed plans.
The inaugural Champions Cup for the Irish Premiership and League of Ireland winners was announced on Wednesday.
Unite signed a three-year deal to sponsor the cross-border tournament with €50,000 set to go to the winners, €25,000 for the runners-up and a further €25,000 ring-fenced for community-based projects in the competing teams' local areas.
Lucid, former Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr and former English FA general secretary Alex Horne have drawn up plans for a new structure that they have given the working title of the 'All-Island League'.
Dundalk have won the League of Ireland for five of the last six seasons
"I think there would be many benefits," Lucid told Reuters.
"From a fan interest points of view it would create some very exciting matches. You bring a larger population base, you would have 6.6 million people which is 1.2 million more than Scotland."
"With that you will have finances coming into the game and with that you have many benefits in terms of facilities, so it becomes a better experience," he said.
The Sunday Times report, external that the Football Association of Ireland has given the green light for the project to go ahead, as long as their clubs are on board.
However, the Irish Football Association in Northern Ireland is more cautious about the idea over financial concerns and maintaining their independence.
Lucid believes it would make clubs more competitive in Europe and allow them to gain from the resources that participation in the Champions League and Europa League can bring.
"In European football, if you have money, you can create money - you want to get to the virtuous cycle," he added.
'Winners all round'
If it was to succeed, the plan would need backing of the clubs and the two national federations, as well as European governing body UEFA.
The competition would be run by a company owned by the participating clubs. The plan is for a top tier division bringing together the leading clubs from both leagues and two regionally based second divisions with promotion and relegation at all levels.
"There are winners all around, even UEFA would benefit as they have four big leagues in Europe and it will probably be good for them to see some consolidation from smaller leagues to try to be more competitive. I think everyone wins from this, I really do," added Lucid.
"This would come down to a discussion with UEFA who would hopefully view this as a positive step on an island where the game is struggling against GAA (Gaelic) games and rugby."
