SSE Airtricity League prize money increased by over 50 per cent

Total prize money for the coming SSE Airtricity League season has been increased by over 50 per cent with most of the additional funding coming from the FAI’s sponsorship deal with online bookmakers, Trackchamp.

It was understood at the time that deal was announced that it would be worth around €10,800 per Premier Division club and it seems that this money, plus some €30,000 in extra funding, is to be distributed in the form of additional prize money at the end of the campaign.

League director Fran Gavin said that a breakdown of the prize money will be announced next week, but it appears that the money the clubs were originally told will simply be added to the prize for each place.

Speaking at the league launch at the Aviva Stadium on Wednesday, Gavin said that all of the top flight sides would now at least break even on their affiliation fees, which stand at €17,000.

The €30,000 would appear to be intended to ensure that first division clubs, who pay €8,000 in affiliation fees, will also break even.

Dundalk manager Stephen Kenny, meanwhile, said that he had made it clear to his players that they must forget about all that was achieved last season and look to match that success now over the coming season.

“”I don’t think that we could have anticipated what happened last year and certainly it was terrific to bring 15,000 people here from Dundalk for the cup final, it was all a bit special,” he said. “But it’s all in the past, that’s the reality.

“Every single year you have to prove yourself again; what you’ve done last season counts for nothing now, history has proven that. We had the team photograph yesterday and there were four trophies in the photograph but I said to the players: ‘that’s gone, what was achieved last season really is consigned to history now so you have to go, in every single game, and prove yourselves.’’

Dundalk face Cork City in the President’s Cup on Saturday before kicking off their title defence in Bray next weekend.