DERRY City’s view on an All-Ireland League is clear and unequivocal: “There’s a lot of people in both leagues who would love this to happen tomorrow.”
So said the Candystripes’ PRO Lawrence Moore, who was among several representatives of the Brandywell club at Stormont for NIFL’s ‘More Than the Game’ event.
Fittingly Moore moves into a new ‘Football Social Responsibility’ role at the club later this month – and he’s adamant that an all-island league coming even sooner would be welcomed in many parts:
“I do honestly believe that there are figures in NIFL who would want it to happen tomorrow.
“Certainly it’s very high on our wish list in the League of Ireland and particularly for Derry City obviously having our history in the past here as well and having played in the Setanta Cup, which was a great competition, really great competition.
“I think both leagues at some point along the way will need this to happen.”
A return to the Irish League/ NIFL is much less likely, Moore feels, saying:
“Derry City have found a home and are happy in their home at the minute. Supporters are content.
“Having competitions closer and having teams closer, obviously there’s an upside to all of that.
“But I just think it’s a can that’s been kicked down the road a long time. It’s been talked about for years and it hasn’t happened.
“I think an all-island league or cup competition…something a lot more inclusive as a precursor than any sort of knee-jerk thing about jumping back to the Irish League days.
“I can’t see it happening in the short term but certainly the All-island League competition would be something that would be very warmly welcomed at Derry City.”
Derry City Women actually play in NIFL’s Sports Direct Women’s Premiership and that will continue – for now.
“To be honest it has been the girls themselves who have decided that they wanted to stay put, the way things were.
“I think eventually that amalgamation kind of needs to happen honest for both sides of the club. There’s a very strong working relationship now between the men’s and women’s teams at Derry City, it hasn’t made it any more complicated.
“It does suit when you have girls coming out of school or work or whatever to be travelling no further than Belfast, it’s all understandable.
“Hopefully at some point there’s going to be an all-Ireland [League] competition for them as well.”
Irish League club representatives met earlier on Monday to discuss, among other things, a change to summer football.
Derry City have very much enjoyed that, said Moore: “It’s been fantastic.
“Since we’ve come into the League of Ireland, Derry City have tried a number of different [approaches]: obviously we’re the same as yourselves playing the traditional winter league, we tried Sunday afternoons at the start and then we tried Thursday nights, we tried Fridays, we tried Saturdays, we come back to Friday nights again. I think Friday nights in summer football has absolutely been the ace in the deck for us and I can’t see it changing for a very long time.
“I don’t know what will work and there are obviously pitfalls. I was speaking to the lads from Coleraine and we’re saying the same things: if it is going to happen, it could take 10 to 15 years for NIFL to come around to that.
“I think you will see the benefit of it, particularly when clubs are now looking to go more in the full-time role, having summer football, summer training.
“You know the weather we get here, the two seasons sometimes aren’t that different but there’s just a different feel to summer football.”
Moore believes that the different season timing in the League of Ireland has helped their clubs improve in Europe compared to Irish League counterparts:
“It’s probably been one of the factors, I wouldn’t say it’s come down to that in isolation.
“There are a number of factors - the fact that League of Ireland clubs have been in a full-time setup for a lot longer and the size of the player pool available as well, you’ve got to take all these things into consideration.
“It certainly hasn’t harmed, and we’re coming into European games mid-season, which is another advantage.”
