By his own admission, he hasn’t been there as long as some. But Galway United Chairman Jonathan Corbett has seen much in his ten years of involvement with his hometown club. His energy, enthusiasm and personality have been significant assets in this time. He revels in the work.
“The last match of the season is when everything kicks in, trying to get ready for the first match of the following season. It’s been hell for leather.
“We have an extra five teams compared to when I got involved first. We have so much more red tape with the FAI. We have so much more to do making sure everyone is safe, with crowds and child welfare and all the bits that goes with it. I know he’ll hate me for saying it, but John Flannery has done unbelievable work. He always has, but this year has been a different level.
There is an uneasy paradox at the heart of the growth of the professionalism in the league. As standards in training and academies continues so too does the reliance on volunteers. Corbett believes that this is unsustainable and believes the increasing burden of administration requires investment.
“When you look at the Connacht Rugby, when you walk into their office, the amount of staff that they have would blow you away. It’s totally different in the League of Ireland. It’s 99% done on a volunteer basis. There are clubs that have started to put more paid staff in.
“We do have paid staff but very minimal at the moment but that has to change if we want to move into the new era. I think we will look back in 10 years and think how did we do it back then. It needs to change, and we will be making changes in the next few months on this basis.
“We’re still not getting enough from Government for what we think we are doing bringing the elite in football up through all our academies and hopefully playing for Ireland down the line. It’s important to say that this is the biggest played sport in Ireland. The numbers are there.
“The Government should have been doing more but they haven’t. I’m saying that with a newly elected cousin in Dáil Éireann, John Connolly. His ear will be rightly red over the next five years! In fairness, he has been backing us since he has gone in there. We already have meetings set up with Ministers in Dublin on various issues.
“The volunteers led this. The Co-Op in Galway. The guys in Sligo, Cork, Bohs, all the clubs that went in there with co-ops after having certain issues with their clubs. They’re the ones that should be held on a pedestal. I’m not including myself because I wasn’t there at the start. I’m including the guys that had meetings at the start in the Claddagh Hall, like Bernie O’ Connell. They’re the ones that fought from the bottom up.”
While the road has been long and windy, there have been important recent strides. The Chairman identifies improved relations at a local level and renewed support of The Comer Group as causes for optimism.
“I think the buy-in from clubs in Galway city and county is massive. Over the last 4 or 5 years, the relationship has got stronger every year. The GFA Chairman Kevin O’ Neill is always there to help in any way. The relationship has also got better at grassroots by our addition of Sean Kimberley.
“This Christmas was tough. We were trying to get everything sorted. We met with Luke Comer. I always say it but without him, forget about it. He is backing us again for the next couple of years. He wants us to push on. He wants us to get into Europe. We flew over to Berlin to meet him and he updated his commitment to Galway United for the next number of years. He is investing a significant amount of money. Mountain South is his Number One target.”
Increased TV audiences, attendances, sponsorship are hugely positive. But the reality remains that clubs like St. Pat’s, Derry and Galway United continue to rely on generous benefactors to operate. Waterford, Drogheda and Shelbourne have received investment from English Football League clubs. The case for government investment to build infrastructure and academies is becoming stronger. No one should doubt that Jonathan Corbett, and a hardworking, long-serving Galway United board will continue to make that argument.
