How to help your League of Ireland club financially during the Coronavirus shutdown - a guide
Credit: Michael P Ryan (ETPhotos)
With football across Ireland suspended until March 29th – though a much longer break is likely – this is a challenging time for all football clubs on the island.
First-team and academy training has been suspended across the board as clubs put the health of their players and staff first, but the financial impact will be acute for many.
The issues are particularly acute for League of Ireland and Women’s National League clubs for whom the overheads for national competition require a huge amount of fundraising and revenue.
League of Ireland clubs are uniquely exposed to the loss of matchday revenue as they make a UEFA-high 28% of revenue from gates and a low of 1% from television.
Evidence of just how much value our national league clubs contribute to the public good is the fact many have spent the past days distributing info to fans on how to keep fit while social distancing.
Clubs have also been active in supporting charitable events, including the upcoming extratime.ie eSports Cup, where players from all ten Premier Division teams will face off in FIFA 20 in aid of Cystic Fibrosis Ireland.
Clubs across the country have also lent their vocal support to league legend Conan Byrne, who undertook a 42km walk around Dublin’s League of Ireland grounds to support the Irish Cancer Society.
As a guide to help you help your club (or any club in the league) through these trying times, we decided why not compile an easy-to-reference list to make it easier?
Most clubs have season tickets and future matchday tickets on sale for supporters who would like to help plug the gap, while several also operate a membership or subscription model.
Likewise, most clubs have online shops where jerseys and merchandise can be purchased, while some clubs have continued to operate brick-and-mortar shops within HSE guidelines.
Club lottos have been an unfortunate victim of the shutdown, as Derry City and Finn Harps have postponed theirs for logistical reasons, but fans can still buy tickets for when they restart.
If there are any that we’ve missed out on – and particularly those clubs for whom we haven’t got any info on – please do get in touch on social media or email davedonnelly@extratime.ie.
Athlone Town
Bohemians
Third kit launched: https://www.shop-bohemianfc.com/collections/frontpage/products/copy-of-2020-oneills-away-jersey-regular-fit
Shop: https://www.shop-bohemianfc.com/
Bray Wanderers
Shop: https://braywanderersfc.ie/shop/
Lotto: https://play.clubforce.com/
Cabinteely
Shop: http://loi.cabinteelyfc.ie/tickets/?doing_wp_cron=1584569483.2066540718078613281250
Cobh Ramblers
Matchday ticket & Raffle: https://member.clubforce.com/ticket-list.asp?LL_ID=980&CLB=1#topp
Membership: http://cobhramblers.ie/membership/
Cork City
Classic matches Patreon: https://www.corkcityfc.ie/home/2020/03/16/relive-classic-ccfc-games-by-becoming-a-rebel-army-patron/
Virtual ticket (Bohs): https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/cork-city-v-bohemians-tickets-96909373545
100 Club and season tickets: https://member.
Shop: https://www.corkcityfc.ie/home/shop/
Derry City
Lotto: https://www.derrycityfc.net/derry-city-lotto/ (Suspended until April 27th)
Shop: https://www.mckeeversports.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=+derry+city
DLR Waves
TBC
Drogheda United
Shop: https://www.umbro.ie/league-of-ireland/drogheda-united-fc
Lotto: https://play.clubforce.com/play_newa.asp?ll_id=603#Anchor
Season tickets: https://www.droghedaunited.ie/tickets.html
Dundalk
Lotto: https://play.clubforce.com/play_newa.asp?ll_id=303#Anchor
Shop: https://www.umbro.ie/league-of-ireland/dundalk-fc
Finn Harps
500 Club: https://www.finnharps.ie/500club
Lotto: https://play.clubforce.com/play_newa.asp?ll_id=174#Anchor (Suspended indefinitely)
Online tickets: https://member.clubforce.com/finnharpstickets
Galway WFC
TBC
Galway United
Co-op: https://galwayunitedfc.ie/co-op/
Tickets: https://galwayunitedfc.ie/season-tickets/
Online store: https://galwayunitedfc.ie/shop/
Longford Town
TBC
Peamount United
TBC
Shamrock Rovers
Finn Harps programme: https://shamrockrovers.ie/programme-sales/
Shop: https://www.umbro.ie/league-of-ireland/shamrock-rovers-fc
Shelbourne
Shop: https://shelbournefc.ie/online-service-launched-for-shels-club-shop/
Stadium shop open Saturday 2.30pm - 5.00pm
Sligo Rovers
Raffle: https://srfcdirect.com/1994-cup-final-golden-goal/
Lotto: https://www.sligorovers.com/lotto/
Bit o’ Red Wall: https://srfcdirect.com/fundraising/bit-ored-wall/
500 Club: https://srfcdirect.com/fundraising/500-club/
St Patrick’s Athletic
Season tickets: https://www.stpatsfc.com/tickets.php
Shop: https://stpatsfc.myshopify.com/
Patron Saints: Email Stpatssc@gmail.com
Treaty United
TBC
UCD
TBC
Waterford
Tickets: https://www.waterfordfc.ie/tickets/
Shop: https://www.umbro.ie/league-of-ireland/waterford-fc
Wexford & Wexford Youths
Match programmes: http://wexfordfc.ie/latest-news/939-programme-sales-online
Donations: Email media@wexfordfc.ie
Player sponsorship: Email info@wexfordfc.ie
