St James Gate survive but issues remain in amateur game

Last week another amateur football club in Dublin announced it was going to fold.

It's not an uncommon scenario, but this one garnered significant interest because the club in question is St James Gate FC: a team established for the workers of St James's Gate Brewery 120 years ago, one of the founder members and inaugural winners of both the League of Ireland and FAI Cup, and a side that was playing in the First Division up until 1996.

Thereafter they dropped back into the amateur game, consistently operating around the top end of the Leinster Senior League.

St James Gate's rich history meant their demise sparked quite a reaction on social media. In the past week some former players and committee members have agreed to come back into the fold, and on Wednesday it was announced they had been saved.

The Gate will go again in 2022, but the challenges they've faced just to stay alive will feel depressingly familiar to many people involved in amateur football.

St James Gate are based in Dublin 8. In that area alone there's probably 15 amateur football clubs, all of them scrapping for sponsorship, pitches to play on and, indeed, players.

The costs are rising. To play at any level in the Leinster Senior League this season a footballer must pay €90 for their insurance, plus weekly subs and an annual membership fee, which varies from club to club.

It's a financial burden for players in the 18-25 demographic particularly - students, apprentices, those who are not be in full-time employment - often shun.

The most recent Teneo Sport and Sponsorship Index (TSSI) report found that football is Ireland's most popular sport alongside Gaelic games - and yet many clubs are struggling to find enough committed players to fulfil their fixtures, let