STEPHEN BRADLEY would visit Leinster House if it would help to persuade the Government to fund League of Ireland academies.
The Shamrock Rovers boss is a champion of the league and investment in youth football for the future of the Ireland team.
The Hoops boss would be willing to represent the League in a meeting at Leinster House[/caption]
Successive governments have spoken of the need for support and the current coalition stated it it would explore options.
But Bradley insists Irish football must keep the conversation going with Government — and will play his part and meet politicians if needs be.
He said: “We have all got a responsibility to improve Irish football at every level.
“And if I’ve got a really small part to play in that, I’d be more than happy to do that.
“Me, anyone . . . can talk about and listen to their ideas and answer questions if I have the answers to them.
“But I’ve always said that the answers lie around a table with everyone talking and that hasn’t changed.
“We need to show these people why it’s so important. We do sound like a broken record but so be it.
“That’s what we have been like and we have to keep banging on the drum.
“The Brexit stuff means players have to stay here unless they go to Europe.
“But players, agents, parents and families are seeing how important this league is for development.
“The Government really needs to take it seriously.
“But we’ve got to show them the reasons why it’s so important and the reasons why we need it, that this money is not just going to get lost on a senior player getting big wages.
“That’s not what it’s for. It should be ring-fenced.”
ONUS ON CLUBS
But Bradley — who has not been afraid to promote youngsters such as Michael Noonan who, at 16, became the youngest goalscorer in Conference League history when he netted the winner against Molde last month — knows the onus is on clubs to show how the money will be spent to combat fears that the funding would go to waste.
The Hoops chief said: “If you’re someone new coming into government and you’ve given X amount in the past and not seen anything for it, you can’t blame people for being a bit hesitant.
“I understand that point of view and that’s why we’ve got to keep showing them why it is so important. The future of our national team is in the league.
“That’s why it is so important if we want to keep improving and staying with the European nations of a similar size.
“But it’s about building that trust, showing that money received will be spent in the right areas and ensure that it’s not going to get wasted.
“Let’s have a plan for when we get the funding at each and every club. We need to have a clear plan.
“We’ve done that to a certain extent at Rovers and I think that would ease the fear and hesitation that is there in the Government, which is only normal.
“We need the funding. We have a chance to take ownership of our development. We’ve never had that but we have that now.
“The real carrot we have is we can offer top-level football at a very young age, which is so important for these players’ development.
“You cannot replace that with anything else.
“Michael was starting in Molde and there is nothing you can do to replicate that in an academy system outside or in Ireland.”
