2007 League of Ireland

The League of Ireland, consisting of both the League of Ireland Premier Division and the League of Ireland First Division, kicked off in March, 2007. The competition remained under the sponsorship of Irish telecommunications company, eircom.

Rather than being decided by the usual process of relegation and promotion, the participants of the respective Premier and First Divisions for 2007 were chosen by way of a ranking process carried out by an Independent Assessment Group appointed by the Football Association of Ireland.

Shelbourne F.C. should have been the defending champions, having won the title in November, 2006. However, they were prevented from doing so after the FAI decided that the club should be relegated from the top division for financial reasons prior to the beginning of the 2007 season. While their participation in the Premier Division was removed due to extreme financial trouble at the club, which had been present throughout the 2006 season, the title they won that season was not stripped from them."", Aidan Fitzmaurice, UEFA.com, 20 February 2007.

Pre-season developments

The Independent Assessment Group

On June 29, 2006 the clubs of the League of Ireland had voted to accept John Delaney's proposals for change in the league system. The league make-up for 2007 would be decided by an Independent Assessment Group chaired by former FAI President Des Casey and appointed by the FAI. This group was to work...
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