THERE is much rancour in schoolboy football following an FAI instruction for summer football to be fully operational by 2020.

High Performance Director Ruud Dokter has made the radical switch from the traditional format a priority since joining the association from the Dutch FA in 2013.

This move away from running the season around the school year of September to May is the most controversial of the changes proposed in the FAI’s Player Development Plan (PDP) launched in 2015.

The vast majority of the 32 schoolboy leagues, especially outside of the Dublin, are steadfastly opposed to the strategy, contending it will play straight into the hands of rival codes at a time competition for participation amongst youngsters is at its highest in the country. Regional leagues have voiced their concerns of a talent drain to Gaelic games and rugby.

While Mayo, Roscommon and Clare already operated a summer season before the FAI’s policy emerged, the three Dublin leagues opted to test the format this year. Feedback on the change has been mixed, with the North Dublin Schoolboy League particularly critical, branding it a disaster.

Under the ‘summer’ format, games are played from March to October but the season features a break in July and August. That means players have no fixtures for six months of the year.

On Saturday, leagues were informed at a Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland (SFAI) council meeting that an edict from the governing body compels them to comply with the summer season by 2020. A shorter season for the second half of 2019 has also been requested.

It remains to be seen how this development is received by the most vocal of leagues, with many of their clubs fearful for the future of the game.

Meanwhile, the biggest league in the country, the Dublin District Schoolboys League (DDSL), will host Manchester United and Bayern Munich next May in a prestigious tournament to mark their 75th anniversary.

Online Editors