Calendar change needs 75% of clubs to pass - Lawlor

Gerard Lawlor, chief executive of the Northern Ireland Football League, has said 75% of clubs must vote in favour of a change to the football calendar.

Lawlor was speaking on BBC Radio Ulster after a survey revealed that the majority of players did not want the calendar to switch from its current August to May schedule.

A change to a March-October season, as is the case in the League of Ireland, or a May-January campaign has been mooted, and Lawlor is in favour of a move to summer football.

"It will be 75% is my understanding. It will have to be a pre-agreement," Lawlor told Sportsound on the percentage of votes that needed to pass the calendar move.

"All of this is a journey. It might lead us nowhere or it might lead us somewhere.

"I think we're better to explore the journey and the benefits than sitting on our back sides and doing nothing."

The player survey, through the Players' Football Association of Northern Ireland, said more than 50% of the 141 players who responded were against the change, while one-fifth of responses were in favour.

Lawlor said that it was a "small group" of players who responded and added that, ultimately, the decision would be down to the clubs, and it would take 75% of NIFL's 38 member clubs to vote through any change.

"The players were not in favour of a May-January model because they would miss out on the summer and they would miss out on Christmas," Lawlor said.

"We're either going to be professional and move this game forward, or do we want, with all due respect, to stay in Liam's [Beckett, who played in the 1970s and managed in mid-2000s] era?"

"It's one of the things we do in Northern Ireland football, is we say no before they know what the change is."

Lawlor said that clubs have until 19 October to come to NIFL with questions or concerns about the potential change.

"Clubs have to take ownership of that [final] report because that report will be devised on the information and questions that clubs have asked of us," he said.

"We're still a week away, but we have had a very limited response at this stage from clubs and very little engagement.

"I just hope clubs aren't asleep at the wheel or have buried their heads in the sand because this is a big decision that needs made."

Player welfare was another issue raised in the survey, with concerns over part-time players' work-life balance, as well as mental and physical wellbeing.

However, Lawlor said the transition between seasons would be the "easy part".

"I think some players think we would stop one week and start the next, but that's not the case. A full pre-season would have to go in.

"When we talk around player welfare it is the exact same amount of matches in the same format, but it could be in better weather, better conditions and on better pitches.

"Player welfare, supporter welfare and the growth of clubs, we have to balance all those things up and present the clubs with the information."

Lawlor pointed to the lack of European success for clubs, as Larne, Linfield, Glentoran and Coleraine all missed out on qualification to the Europa League of Uefa Conference League this season.

As a result, the Irish League is set to lost a European place after Northern Ireland fell to 51st in Uefa's coefficient ranking.

Lawlor said European money would filter down to all clubs in the Premiership through Uefa's solidarity funding, not just to the clubs competing in Europe, and he hoped that Championship clubs could also benefit in the future.

Despite having summer football, no club from the League of Ireland's Premier Division made it to the League phase of European competition this season.

"We all moan in September time when our clubs are out of Europe and how disappointing it is," added Lawlor.

"We want to do something about it and we want to challenge it to try and bring those European monies in."

He also said: "It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know if you've 20 games under your belt then you'll play better than if you've just played two pub teams before a game."

In terms of a time frame for a vote, Lawlor said: "I was looking at this side of Christmas but we lost a bit of time this season."

He urged clubs to speak to their stakeholders and supporters over any potential switch, and said they had to "stand up and take some responsibility".

"I think some clubs can hide behind NIFL, but this is a decision for clubs about what is best for them.

"Not everyone is going to agree. Some will make a decision to stick, but if the majority decides a change will be in place then that's what we will go with."

Lawlor was also asked about the long-awaited Northern Ireland Football Fund, which has been ongoing since 2015.

At the end of September, communities minister Gordon Lyons said that the fund remained "on track" to be delivered, despite a legal challenge being launched by two unsuccessful clubs.

He said that NIFL had meetings with local politicians to stress the importance of the fund, and said his organisation would "keep making the case" for money to be released.

Lawlor also said he had requested a meeting with Northern Ireland secretary of state Chris Bryant.

"The worrying thing for me, no matter what, is if the first 10 business cases were signed off tomorrow we still only have a very small amount of money.

"This original £36m that doesn't touch the sides."

Lawlor also added there was concern about the future of the Northern Ireland executive at Stormont, which he felt was on "thin ground".

An assembly election is set to take place in May but there have been tensions between Sinn Fein and the DUP, the two largest political parties in the Stormont Executive, over the Drumcree parade dispute.

"It's concerning, but all we can do is continue to make the case and keep the pressure on to get money released."