Final may be switched

The FAI are to make a decision on where to hold this season's FAI Cup final within the next couple of days following calls from supporters of both clubs for the game to be switched from Tolka Park to Lansdowne Road. The RDS may end up being a compromise venue.

When the date and venue for the final were made at the start of the season, Lansdowne Road had been ruled out for a mixture of sporting and financial reasons. But it could now be used for the game which is scheduled to take place on December 4th.

According to FAI officials, an initial problem was the prospect that Leinster might have had a rugby match at the venue over the same weekend. However, Leinster have now temporarily moved to the RDS and are also due to play away to Connacht that weekend.

Another concern for the FAI was committing to the venue only to find that two poorly supported clubs had reached the final, which would have left the association in the humiliating situation of having to switch the game to a smaller ground.

As it turns out, the decider will be between Cork City, current National League leaders and the best supported club in the country, and Drogheda United, who easily sold out their ground for Sunday's semi-final against Bray Wanderers.

The FAI intend to consult with both clubs over the coming days, but Cork are likely to be concerned about the prospect of receiving fewer than 4,000 tickets for the final in the event that Tolka is used, while Drogheda feel confident that they could also sell more than that number.

"Well, we feel that 5,000 would be a very realistic figure for us," says Drogheda PRO Terry Collins, "but it's not just about tickets and money. I think if you asked the players or the fans they'd be very anxious to have this game played at Lansdowne Road, it's seen as the proper stage for the biggest football matches in the country. And with this being our first final since 1976, there's certainly a feeling that would be more in tune with the sense of occasion there is up here."

Both semi-finals were sell-outs, but there will still be some concern within the association that the combined attendance of the games - around 12,000 - would leave Lansdowne Road looking pretty empty, something that clearly takes away from the spectacle on television.

The cost of hiring the stadium is also a significant factor, and is likely to take away considerably from what the participating clubs make from the game unless a much larger crowd is brought out on the day.

In the circumstances, it emerged yesterday, that the FAI are considering moving the game to the RDS for the first time. The capacity there would be around 15,000, which would enable both clubs to obtain close to what they expect to look for in terms of their ticket allocation.