THE derby clash of Bohs-Rovers at the Aviva Stadium showed what is possible for the League of Ireland — but also how far there is to go.
It was a special day as a record 33,208 supporters attended a league fixture that felt in every way like a big game should.
The street traders were out in force and had done their homework — with no half-and-half scarves for sale. Instead, they opted for club-themed balaclavas.
I heard one mother outside Slattery’s telling her son to put his on, “So I can find you” — a wise decision to enable her to quickly pick him out among the thousands.
That there were so many children at the game bodes well, especially if any of them have now been hit by the lifelong affliction/fortune of being a League of Ireland supporter.
There is also scope to grow.
I was off work last Sunday and, having missed Valentine’s Day — between travelling home from Molde and covering Pat’s-Drogs on the big day — I bought my wife a ticket. Call me an old romantic.
At the security check, she was the only one in the women’s queue while I was at the back of one of the five lines for men.
The crowd was predominantly male, which meant the bonus for her of not having to queue for the female toilets, as happens at other events.
In the premium level — for a bargain price of €35 — there were plenty of familiar faces enjoying a drink, even if, unlike at rugby games, they could not bring said drinks to their seats.
For those of us who were a ‘problem child’ and have been going to matches for years, it was incredible that our league could do it all without losing its, erm, unique character.
That came with Friday’s Tolka Park power outage and the LOITV teething problems, though thankfully they were fixed in time for Saturday night’s cracker from the Showgrounds.
But while the comfort of the Aviva, the bumper crowd and all the young faces highlighted what the League of Ireland can become, this week presents the same old problems.
There are four Premier Division games tonight and the biggest venue is Galway United’s Eamonn Deacy Park, which has 3,300 seats, ten per cent of last Sunday’s crowd.
While it’s safe to assume most of the young fans at the Aviva last weekend are Dublin-based, capacity issues mean they may not get in regularly at three local clubs.
And those who enjoyed the premium-level comforts would also be locked out of all but Tallaght, where you must be a member to get a half-time glass of Prosecco.
LOI novices may also be underwhelmed by the venues they look to visit in future.
While we may love the old grounds — or parts of them anyway — more recent converts may not be as forgiving.
The FAI Facilities Plan launched 20 months ago proposed ground capacities of 4,000 scaling up to 15,000 to 20,000 at certain venues by 2038.
That Government labelled the plan ‘ambitious’ in 2023.
Less than two years on, it may have underestimated what’s needed.
At least the Government is sitting up and taking notice with TDs and Senators now talking about the league and academies.
But it is all about the money and, in the short term, that will likely need to mean more games at the Aviva.
Selecting the right match is crucial. But with a summer league, there is a market to entice football fans from abroad to Dublin to fill out the ground in June and July.
And if the Government can give €10million to the richest league in the world to bring the Pittsburgh Steelers to Croke Park, maybe it can open its wallet so the Greatest League in the World can be shown off to tourists too.
