NIFL Chair highlights 'probably the biggest decision in recent history' coming up for Irish League clubs
Northern Ireland Football League (NIFL) Chair Chris Brindley feels a decision on changing the Irish League playing calendar is “probably the biggest in recent history” – but insists the organisation is “not wedded to an outcome”.
Included in NIFL’s 2023-2028 strategy document – which is titled ‘A bold and brighter future for professional football’ – is an ambition to “lead and implement a change to the professional game playing calendar”.
In August, NIFL released a new survey in partnership with Play It Forward Consulting calling for “fan input and to understand how a calendar shift could affect” supporters with a proposal of starting the campaign in May and ending in February.
NIFL CEO Gerard Lawlor confirmed in June that the organisation had commissioned a deeper report to get further answers surrounding both the positives and negatives of a potential calendar switch with findings hopefully delivered to clubs in “early-2026”.
Premiership clubs are meeting with the NIFL hierarchy on Monday afternoon with talks about summer football and broadcasting expected to be topics on the agenda.
"We're committed to look at it (summer football),” Brindley told the News Letter. “What we've not got is a commitment to change it.
"I think this is probably the biggest decision that NIFL and its member clubs will make in recent history.
"As a result of that, I think the important bit is getting it right…there was a study this week that talks about speed versus accuracy – I would want to get as much evidence as possible.
"There are lots of opinions on the seasonality, there's some talking about holidays, some about full-time clubs and part-time clubs.
"I want to get as much evidence to make the best decision with the key stakeholders.
"It may well stay, it may well change, who knows? What we will do is sit down and look at the evidence.
"We will sit and engage with the clubs. I'm not wedded to an outcome, I’m wedded to the best outcome for the Northern Ireland Football League and its member clubs.”
Brindley was speaking at NIFL’s ‘More Than The Game’ event held at Stormont on Monday, where club representatives and politicians gathered to hear about the positive community impacts of football.
“NIFL is unrecognisable from what it was before Gerard arrived,” he added. “Pre-Gerard, it was a really good administrative function.
"What Gerard's brought is a new dynamic of commerciality, growth, vision. If you look at the 2023-2028 strategy, we've got real clarity about it.
"I go through that document at every General Assembly with all member clubs and I give it a red-amber-green status and we are achieving so many greens now.
"I think there's real consistency about the power of football and what it can do in its communities.
"I think the football is a great start...I think we need a people strategy as well as a bricks and mortar strategy and I truly believe that.
"We aren't the English Premier League or the English Football League, we don't have those TV deals and that money floating around.
"What we therefore need to do is actually look at where we can get money and the difference it can make.”