GIVEN the high quality of coverage devoted to the Airtricity League in your newspaper, it was disappointing to read Gerry Kelly's article, 'Switch off the life support', which displayed a serious lack of understanding of senior football in this country. Mr. Kelly's central premise is that the Airtricity League is financially insolvent and increasingly irrelevant to football fans.

Presumably, Mr. Kelly wrote this article in such a hurry that he left himself no time to research the facts. While that is unfortunate, please allow me to clear up a few issues in case similar time management issues arise in the future:

- Total income in the Airtricity League is at a record high of € 27m (as opposed to € 15m in 2006);

- Player salary costs have fallen from 96% in 2006 to 54%;

- Total losses are at a fouryear low of € 2.7m (from a high of € 6.9m);

- Of that

€ 2.7m, 90% is accounted for by just two clubs;

- Prize money in the Airtricity League has increased by 128% since 2007;

- Attendances across both divisions have increased by 100,000 since 2007.

In many ways, the Airtricity League mirrors Ireland as a whole. Some clubs were spending money wildly and lived in an unsustainable manner off bank loans, benefactors and land speculation.

Following the merger between the FAI and the League in December 2006, the FAI's top priority was to bring this period of financial madness to an end. New regulations were introduced to ensure that clubs could spend only 65% of their total income on players' wages.

Much like other sectors, the last 18 months has seen football experience something of a hangover after a wild party. New regulations have brought financial irresponsibility at certain clubs to the fore. That these instances have been carelessly diagnosed by commentators such as Mr. Kelly as symptoms of irreversible damage to the domestic game is most unfortunate.

The fact is that last season 65% of Airtricity League clubs recorded either financial profits or losses of less than € 50,000, a comparatively small sum when compared with losses being experienced by similar-sized industries.

The efforts of the FAI to bring financial stability to the Airtricity League have been hailed by UEFA, who are now proposing introducing our regulations across Europe. That European football's parent body is using the Airtricity League as an example of good financial practice is a signal of developments within senior football in Ireland.

Our status in European football is rising off the pitch, but our reputation on it is improving also. Ranked 40th in Europe just four years ago, the Airtricity League is now ranked 29th – an unprecedented rise that comes on the back of some very strong performances in European competition. This is reflective of the rising standards on the pitch, which have greatly improved over recent years due to a stronger emphasis on youth development and coach education, amongst other issues.

When Mr. Kelly was involved in the league premerger, club licensing didn't exist, prize money and sponsorship was a pittance and the self-regulated system was a basket case of continuous disagreement.

Indeed, the development of our coaching and youth development are directly linked to another issue which Mr. Kelly took issue with: Club Licensing. Contrary to claims, club licensing has had a massively positive impact on the Airtricity League. From strengthening financial regulations, to introducing coaching qualifications and making youth development mandatory, licencing has changed the structure of senior football in Ireland.

Many of these developments – such as improvements to coaching and stricter financial regulations – are done 'under the radar' to a degree, while others - including the programme of stadia improvement which has led to massively positive developments at stadiums such as Turner's Cross, Tallaght, Lissywollen and the RSC, to name just four – are more visible.

The enormous strides made by Dundalk at Oriel Park - which include the € 5.5m development of a new Youth Development Centre, due to become operational this summer - are further indicative of the moves not just to provide better spectator facilities, but also to enhance the facilities available to the wider community 365 days a year.

Contrary to Mr. Kelly's assertion that the league is 'down the pecking order' of the Association's priorities, the fact is that no other sector of domestic football receives as much financial input from the FAI, and no other sector of domestic football has as much influence in the Association. The running of the Airtricity League costs the Association € 5m per season – hardly an insignificant sum.

Part of this investment is aimed at the Club Promotion Officer programme, which is co-funded between the FAI and the clubs. The CPO programme sees clubs working with their communities, visiting schools and local clubs to bring positive messages such as anti-racism and the importance of healthy eating.

It is unclear from his article whether Mr. Kelly is reminiscing of the days when clubs did not have two pennies to rub together, or whether he preferred the days when they spent money they did not have. The situation the FAI prefers is one in which the clubs live within their means and use their income to develop their off-pitch activities, becoming firmly embedded in the community in the process.