There are just 30 days until Dundalk get the defence of their SSE Airtricity League title underway with a trip to Bray Wanderers.
Six days later, they’re scheduled to host Finn Harps in their first home tie of the campaign.
But with the season just around the corner, a financial dispute with the club’s previous owner Gerry Matthews could mean that it will be a lot longer before we see the Lilywhites lining out at Oriel Park again. And that’s not even the worst case scenario.
This morning’s Irish Times reports that the league and FAI Cup champions may struggle to renew the Premier Division license necessary to compete in the league due to their inability to guarantee that Oriel Park will be available to them for all games in the 2016 season.
Matthews kept the Oriel Park lease when he left the club in 2012 and is now at odds with Dundalk as he looks to recoup some of the losses he suffered in his time as owner.
He has written a letter to the FAI to let them know of Dundalk’s situation but was keen to point out that his goal was to resolve the issue, rather than deny the club’s ability to play in the league.
The club licensing manual reads: “The license applicant must either a) provide evidence that it owns the stadium or b) provide a written contract with the owner or owners of the stadium which it will use for the season. This contract must guarantee the use of the stadium for all League of Ireland home matches for the coming season.”
Dundalk cannot guarantee that, according to Matthews who has requested that Dundalk either pay him €250,000 and, in return, he will sign over both the lease and the Youth Development Centre, the construction of which he reportedly spent €4 million on. The other option on the table is that the club pays €100,000 and, in return, he will sign over the lease but withhold the Youth Development Centre which will be taken apart to recover materials.
The clock is ticking so hopefully this gets resolved long before the first whistle of the season blows.
