Details of Larne v Shamrock Rovers clash in the Conference League - kick-off time, TV, tickets, prize money and referee

Johnny Kenny scores for Shamrock Rovers in their Champions League qualifier against Vikingur in July 2024

Johnny Kenny scores for Shamrock Rovers in their Champions League qualifier against Vikingur in July 2024 Credit: Eddie Lennon (ETPhotos)

Can I watch the match on TV?

You can watch the match between the four-in-a-row League of Ireland champions and the back-to-back  Irish League champions from Belfast on Thursday night on Premier Sports 1 which is available through SKY, NOW and Virgin Media. In the UK, it will be shown on TNT Sports 4 and discovery+.

Where is the match taking place?

With Larne’s Inver Park not suitable for these level of European matches, the game will be played in Windsor Park in Belfast.

What time is kick-off?

5.45pm Irish time.

What is the ticket situation?

Shamrock Rovers were selling tickets to members and season ticket holders. They had an allocation of 2,500 and it is expected they will take up around 1,600 of those tickets.

Larne are selling tickets as part of a three game package.

The attendance for the match is expected to exceed 6,000.



How did Larne qualify for the Conference League?

Larne lost their Champions League first qualifying round 7-0 on aggregate to Latvian champions RFS and benefited with a bye in the Conference League second qualifying round when they dropped into that competition. 

They beat Ballkani from Kosovo 1-0 home and away in the third round. Having lost to Lincoln Red Imps 2-1 in Gibraltar, they won the second leg 3-1 in Inver Park in the play-off round to become the first Northern Ireland side to make the elite stage of a UEFA competition.

How did they do in Europe last season?

Champions League first qualifying round defeat and Conference League second qualifying round defeat (Lost 7-1 on aggregate to Ballkani)



Have the two sides met before?

No but Shamrock Rovers have played Irish League opposition in Europe in Windsor Park before. 

In the 1984/85 European Cup, the Hoops held Linfield to a scoreless draw in the first leg played at Windsor Park but were eliminated when the second leg at Glenmalure Park ended 1-1 with the Blues advancing on away goals.

What happened when Rovers last played in Windsor Park?

On the pitch, Rovers defeated Linfield 3-1 in the Setanta Sports Cup in March 2013.

How are Larne getting on domestically this season?

Northern Ireland champions Larne sit seventh in the 12 team Premiership, 11 points off league leaders Linfield. 

However, the Inver Reds have a backlog of fixtures due to their European campaign. They have three games in hand on Linfield and four on the teams in second to fourth. They’ve lost just two of their nine league games played to date.

What have Rovers had to say about Larne?

Stephen McPhail, Rovers' Sporting Director, speaking to extratime.com said:

“It is a tough game but there is not much messing in terms of travel and recovery. It is like going up to play Derry. We are treating it like that and with the early kick-off at 5.45pm it will help and we can get back home quickly.

"We went up a couple of weeks ago and again on Saturday to see them. They are a good team and know how to win. They had a great season last year and have good players.” 

Will extratime.com be covering the game?

Yes, we will have a reporter in Belfast on Thursday night.

How many teams will qualify from league stage?

Of the 36 teams in the league stage, 24 teams will advance into the knockout stages in February 2025. Teams one to eight get a bye and go directly into the round of 16, while ninth to 24th will go into a series of two legged matches to earn the right to go to the last 16. Teams 25 to 36 will be eliminated.

Rovers are joint 18th in the table after match  day one, while Larne are joint 33rd.

What point total is required to qualify?

Seven points minimum from the six games would most likely put a team in 24th position or better.

How much prize money has Rovers banked and what is available?

Dylan Watts’ goal against APOEL pushed Rovers’ earnings over the €4m mark. They will also earn additional five year and ten year rankings UEFA prize money that is estimated to be around €750,000.

Each point picked up in the group stage is worth €133k (€133k for a draw and €400k for a win) and progression out of the league stage with qualification for the knockout round (last 32) of the Conference League earns €200k, with the round of 16 earning €0.8m.

Clubs 1 to 8 in the league ranking of the league phase will receive an additional €400k while clubs 9 to 16 will receive an additional €200k.

Rovers sit joint 18th in the table currently.

There is a further league ranking bonus paid on the finishing position in the league stage.

The last team (36th place) gets one share worth €28k, with the bonus increasing by €28k for each position so finishing 24th (which would qualify a team for the next phase) is worth €364k, 18th €532k and the team who tops the league stage gets 36 shares (€1.08m). 

These are minimum ranking bonus figures as when there is a draw, UEFA pay out €133k to each club (€266k in total) which is lower than the €400k paid out to the winning team.

So for each draw in the league stage, UEFA take the unassigned €133k and will proportionally increase the initial value of the shares distributed to each position. There were three draws on match night one adding €399k to the pot for distribution across the 36 clubs.

Who is the referee?

Greek official Vassilis Fotias is in charge of this one. He was the fourth official for Northern Ireland’s recent 1-0 loss in Bulgaria last month.

Will the referee have access to VAR?

Yes.

 

About Macdara Ferris

Macdara Ferris is a contributor since 2007 to Hoops Scene (Shamrock Rovers' match day programme) and is the co-author of two books on Shamrock Rovers - 'Tallaght Time: Shamrock Rovers 2009 to 2012' (with Karl … View Full Profile