Last week, we delved into the pressing need for funding elite football academies in Ireland, drawing attention to the transformative impact this could have on our national football landscape.
It’s essential to reiterate that a sustainable academy requires an annual investment of €500,000 to €1,000,000.
This investment benchmark, established across Europe, has been instrumental in producing competitive senior international teams alongside creating significant economic returns with player sales, etc.
Consider this: a child at a Category 3 English academy (League 1 and League 2 clubs) can expect 2,564 more hours of coaching contact between the ages of nine and 20 than a child currently in a League of Ireland (LOI) academy.
This disparity plainly demonstrates our current predicament.
Ireland is one of only four European countries, along with Northern Ireland, Andorra, and Luxembourg, that employs fewer than one full-time academy coach per club.
The solution is straightforward – our academies need full-time coaches to ensure our young players receive adequate training and game-time to succeed.
Shamrock Rovers are currently leading the way for the country with their academy structure, with teams from Under-8 to U20, backed up by an educational programme in partnership with Ashfield College which puts aspiring young players through transition year all the way to Leaving Cert.
Their model is most likely the one for other academies across the country to follow, but it comes at a great expense to the club, though it has resulted in some returns through player sales of Gavin Bazunu, Sinclair Armstrong and Naz Raji, to name a few.
However, it is difficult to maintain alongside the demands and cost of trying to be successful at first team level.
The two existing state funds that could play a pivotal role are the Apprenticeship Employer Grant and the National Childcare Scheme (NCS).
Apprenticeship Employer Grant
The Apprenticeship Employer Grant is designed to support employers who take on apprentices.
This grant is part of the broader national effort to promote apprenticeship programs as a viable path to skilled employment, addressing skills shortages, and fostering economic growth.
League of Ireland clubs, who tick all the boxes, should try to leverage this grant.
If an 18-year-old player is awarded a two-year contract after receiving his Leaving Cert through the academies education programme, with the potential to break into the first team, the club should qualify for an annual €2,000 subsidy per apprentice.
For this to happen, our clubs need to work with the National Apprenticeship Office on the legitimacy of football as a viable apprenticeship pathway.
For reference, in the List of Apprenticeships (May 2024), under ‘Apprenticeships in Development’, ‘Equine’ has a heading – make of that what you will.
National Childcare Scheme (NCS): A Game-Changer
The NCS, a scheme I am deeply familiar with due to my day job now as a childcare provider, could revolutionise funding for football academies.
From September 2024, every child in Ireland aged two to 15 will be entitled to €2.14 per hour towards their childcare needs, up to a certain number of hours per week.
This scheme, if utilised by football academies, could drastically increase contact hours for young players.
Take a club with a schoolboy section that compliments an LOI academy.
Their U8 to U15 teams comprise around 130 boys, each currently receiving approximately eight hours of contact time weekly.
Back of a napkin calculations suggest that an academy could receive over €115,000 annually through NCS payments under those current hours.
The beauty of this arrangement is its scalability; increasing coaching hours would proportionally increase the funding received.
For the NCS to be effectively integrated into football academies, clubs need to adapt their structures.
The current average of eight hours could easily be doubled by increasing the number of training sessions midweek and on weekends and organising additional coaching camps during school holidays.
The potential for clubs to receive over €200,000 annually by maximising contact hours is within reach, provided there is a structured and strategic approach to implementation. The benefits of the NCS extend beyond boys’ teams. This funding model presents an opportunity to establish and support girls’ teams, ensuring they receive the same resources and coaching as their male counterparts.
By doing so sustainably, we can foster a more inclusive football culture.
The NCS could play a vital role in bridging the gap we lack in contact hours, with the end result being more frequent international tournament qualifications for both our men’s and women’s teams.
The National Childcare Scheme was created to support parents in accessing affordable childcare and to improve children’s outcomes through quality services.
Applying this scheme to football academies aligns perfectly with its objectives, offering a dual benefit of enhanced child development and improved footballing outcomes.
