LEAGUE OF IRELAND: Cash-strapped Finn Harps will not go out of business - that was the clear message to supporters at a public meeting in Ballybofey last night.
However, the club may have to revert to a largely amateur set up next season if it fails to come up with €150,000 by January 26th.
The club, which has debts of around €290,000, is under pressure from the FAI to halve its debt before the 2009 season commences.
Last year the Donegal club had a budget of almost €1 million, but its income was €830,000. And now this deficit, along with outstanding debts, has left it in a precarious position.
Club chairman Derek Wilkinson acknowledged at the meeting that they are facing "a severe time factor" and that the club is preparing to play in the First Division.
Last season the weekly wage bill for players was in the region of €12,000 but the figure for 2009 could be anything between one sixth and a half of this amount.
Club secretary Alex Harkin told the meeting that "licencing is now an essential part of being a club in the League of Ireland".
He stressed that the budget that the club is able to produce will decide what sort of set-up it will have. "There is no danger of Finn Harps not getting a licence. We have to produce a budget that we can afford," he said, pointing out that the Harps will be fielding four teams and will have up to 41 paid people involved in the club.
In order to raise funds, the club is now asking its existing shareholders - which number over 500 - for a €200 contribution.
It is also increasing its efforts to raise additional money through its lotto, a shirt draw, a Friends of Finn Harps scheme and a major draw which features a first prize of an apartment in Bulgaria or €40,000 cash.
Former players are also rowing in behind the club. A further public meeting has been arranged for a fortnight's time.
Drogheda United officials also met last night to consider the implications of a refusal by players to accept an offer made in respect of money they are owed.
United's plight remains the most urgent with the club under pressure to come up with proposals capable of winning the support of creditors by the end of this week.
A key step forward would be agreeing a deal on the wages and bonuses owed to players, but having seen an offer of around €90,000 turned down late last week, the committee now running the club's affairs was weighing up what options it had last night.
It is believed that representatives of the players suggested they would accept the offer if further payments were made over the course of the year but the club is anxious to avoid committing future revenues on the basis that it would leave United's new management in an almost impossible position in the event it is saved now.
Even if a deal can be reached with squad members, the funds available to strike a deal with other creditors, including the Revenue Commissioners, will be well short of what had been hoped and the prospect of the club collapsing prior to the start of the new campaign remains very real.
