Eamon Naughton re-elected as National League chairman

Eamon Naughton will continue to be the Chairman of the National League Committee following his re-election at the Annual Convention of Airtricity League clubs in Abbotstown.

Naughton will remain in the role for two more years as he beat John Croghan in the election among Airtricity League club representatives. He’s now been in the role for four years after acting as the Galway United delegate to the League.

Speaking after his re-election, Naughton seemed aware of the challenges that will face him in his upcoming role.

“As we are all too aware, Ireland is in the midst of the worst recession since the foundation of the State and Irish football, like every other business and industry, has not been immune from the effects of the downturn in the economy. So, while our clubs compete against each other each week on the field of play, we must continue to work together off the field to ensure we get through these difficult times and our League emerges as a strong brand with equally strong clubs. That means sharing ideas and experiences in areas such as marketing, revenue generation and cost control.

“There is no doubt that the financial criteria laid down in the club licensing process and the review of budgets by the Association has assisted clubs to be more prudent and we now have a much more sustainable financial model than before with the overall debt among our clubs sharply reduced from €7million in 2007 to just a few hundred thousand euro in 2011 when we saw the majority of clubs either break even or return a small surplus."