SSE AIRTRICITY LEAGUE club Waterford United has revealed that it may have to let a number of players and staff leave due to financial difficulties.
The First Division side, who currently sit sixth in the table, have struggled to bring in funds for a number of reasons including lack of sponsorship and low gate recipts and met today to discuss how to reduce spending.
In a statement released on their website tonight, chairman John O’Sullivan said: ”Waterford United confirms that a meeting was held today, Sunday May 4th, with players and coaching staff to discuss reducing the day-to-day costs of running the club.
“Due to current economic circumstances, the club has been unable to attract sufficient financial support through sponsorship or gate receipts, to meet the current cost of the League of Ireland squad. This has resulted in a deficit beginning to appear in the club’s finances.
Areas under discussion at the meeting included the possible reduction in squad numbers and changes to terms and conditions of players and staff.
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“Proposals are currently being considered by the players and staff and a further meeting is due to take place later in the week. A final decision on the best way forward will not be made until after this meeting.”
It’s very hard to attract fans outside the hardcores when you’re asking 15euro to watch a LOI 1st division game especially in a city badly hit with job losses. It certainly needs help from the FAI here.
I agree it needs more help from the fai, every club in the league does, but ultimately the fai can’t force people to actually go to games and pay their euro, which is the only thing that will safe guard the long term future of the club, not shorterm handouts and bailouts from businessman fans.
Waterford gates for the last few years have been unacceptably poor for an area of well over 50 000 people.
If the best they can manage is 300 a game then of course they’re going to go bust sooner or later.
I’m sure all LOI fans agree a well backed Waterford team would be fantastic for the league as a whole, but unfortunately Waterford people aren’t interested and haven’t been for years now it seems…
I wouldn’t blame supporters, casual fans and local business for not being too bothered about any team in the shambles that is the 1st division.
League needs one 18 team division. This would improve the viability of traditional LOI clubs in the 1st div and sort out the fixture monotony of the premier division.
The benefits would certainly outweigh the ‘excitement’ of automatic promotion/ relegation. The clubs perennially battling relegation in the Premier such as UCD and Bray get very poor crowds anyway.
As for the financial support from the FAI, who are ye kidding?! The fact that the winners of the Irish League get 4 times the prize money of the winners of the LOI is a disgrace and almost certainly a result of the FAI concentrating all commercial deals around the National Team to pay down the Aviva Stadium debt.
Let’s see if John Delaney will step up to the plate and help out us so-called favourite team. I’m sure a small percentage of his substantial salary would go a long way in helping Waterford survive.
Great club in the 80s under Alfie Hale when I was a nipper. When I remember guys like Vinnie McCarthy, Al Finucan, Mick Bennett, Reid etc the club have struggled to get back to any sort of consistency since then. Back to Kilcohn I reckon….up the blues!
Just shut ur trap. Rovers,Cork and Galway are showing the way forward. It is boofons like u who give no support but talk through their arse all the time and nevervput up a penny that has this great club in crisis
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Even from a youths fan it’s bad to see Waterford release players.
Not good for the league !
Terrible,another LOI team in financial difficulty,the corruptFAI and delaney will do nothing as per usual,useless shower!
It’s very hard to attract fans outside the hardcores when you’re asking 15euro to watch a LOI 1st division game especially in a city badly hit with job losses. It certainly needs help from the FAI here.
I agree it needs more help from the fai, every club in the league does, but ultimately the fai can’t force people to actually go to games and pay their euro, which is the only thing that will safe guard the long term future of the club, not shorterm handouts and bailouts from businessman fans.
Waterford gates for the last few years have been unacceptably poor for an area of well over 50 000 people.
If the best they can manage is 300 a game then of course they’re going to go bust sooner or later.
I’m sure all LOI fans agree a well backed Waterford team would be fantastic for the league as a whole, but unfortunately Waterford people aren’t interested and haven’t been for years now it seems…
I wouldn’t blame supporters, casual fans and local business for not being too bothered about any team in the shambles that is the 1st division.
League needs one 18 team division. This would improve the viability of traditional LOI clubs in the 1st div and sort out the fixture monotony of the premier division.
The benefits would certainly outweigh the ‘excitement’ of automatic promotion/ relegation. The clubs perennially battling relegation in the Premier such as UCD and Bray get very poor crowds anyway.
As for the financial support from the FAI, who are ye kidding?! The fact that the winners of the Irish League get 4 times the prize money of the winners of the LOI is a disgrace and almost certainly a result of the FAI concentrating all commercial deals around the National Team to pay down the Aviva Stadium debt.
Let’s see if John Delaney will step up to the plate and help out us so-called favourite team. I’m sure a small percentage of his substantial salary would go a long way in helping Waterford survive.
“His” favourite team.
Great club in the 80s under Alfie Hale when I was a nipper. When I remember guys like Vinnie McCarthy, Al Finucan, Mick Bennett, Reid etc the club have struggled to get back to any sort of consistency since then. Back to Kilcohn I reckon….up the blues!
Rovers B having the desired effect ie kill off as many as they can
Just shut ur trap. Rovers,Cork and Galway are showing the way forward. It is boofons like u who give no support but talk through their arse all the time and nevervput up a penny that has this great club in crisis
Lol good man jim. So any idea what players are coming in at munster
Not the first time this club has been in trouble. Obviously the board haven’t a clue.