National League to be reduced to two rounds

DOMESTIC soccer's National League competitions were revamped once again last night when representatives of the try's senior clubs voted in Dublin to shorten the championship campaign while expanding the League Cup and enhancing its importance by offering a place in European competition to its winners.

A proposal by Dundalk that two rather than three rounds of matches be played in each division of the National League was carried by a substantial majority. The clubs also ushered in a reorganised League Cup competition, based on two groups of 11 teams' playing off for a place in the InterToto Cup.

The changes to the league will be by far the most significant to emerge from the Merrion Square meeting with a cutting down on the number of competitive games that club sides are obliged to play each season.

The present system under which clubs face each other three times, with the advantage of two home games and one away alternating from season to season, has long been a major point of contention within the league, but there had previously been staunch resistance to the idea of cutting back on fixtures for fear that it would have a negative impact on revenue.

"That's a possibility, but it's a bit like the difference between a long distance race and a sprint there is likely to be more intensive interest in the shorter competition," said Dr Tony O'Neill, of UCD, last night.

The shortfall in games will partly be compensated by changes to the League Cup. This competition will now be run on the basis of the 11 teams in each group playing each other once on a round robin basis from August to October and producing two group winners who will face each other in a final.

The format of that cup decider has yet to be decided and it may be voted upon at the league's agm on May 18th.

Also established last night was a new policy committee for the league, which will look into the longer term organisation of its main competitions and evaluate the prospect reducing the premier division's size from 12 teams to 10.

If that happened there would probably be a switch from two meetings between competing sides to four although any such alterations, involving additional relegation, would almost certainly require two to three years' notice before coming into effect.

The National League clubs also voted on their nomination for the vacant position of FAI vice president last night with the name of Milo O'Corcoran from Waterford United going forward to the FAI.

O'Corcoran beat Eddie Cox from Bray Wanderers 12-10 on the second count after the pair had tied with nine votes each, with St Patrick's Athletic's Phil Mooney gaining four votes the first time around.

The vote was, in the end, overshadowed by other events at the meeting which O'Neill described as very productive" while he added that the merger between the league and the FAI got "general support" and was likely to proceed.

He did, however, express some disappointment with the outcome of some of the proceedings, commenting that I probably would have preferred the status quo while any situation whereby clubs are playing in Europe before the start of domestic competition is still a problem."