Finn Harps have launched a crowd-funding scheme to help bring their Finn Park home up to standard to host League of Ireland games when football resumes.
Harps want to ensure that – even without fans present – their Ballybofey stadium will be HSE/Public Health compliant.
The club has been in ongoing discussions with the FAI, and a proposal for return of the SSE Airtricity League this season was received by the Club on Thursday evening.
The proposal involves playing of matches without fans in attendance at HSE / Public Health compliant stadia with venues yet to be confirmed, and includes an element of financial compensation for loss of gate receipt income.
The board of directors of Finn Harps FC confirm the desire of the club to see a return to football provided the health and well-being of our players and staff, and the financial stability of the club are maintained, and welcome the proactive approach from the FAI to date.
Playing matches without fans has obvious financial implications but the loss of income the club is dealing with goes far beyond simply a loss of gate receipts, with sponsors impacted and major fundraising plans postponed.
The prospect of playing ‘home’ matches somewhere other than Finn Park would be a significant additional cost both financially and in terms of its practical impact on the club’s mainly part-time players and management.
As an immediate response to the challenges of bringing football back to Finn Park, Harps have launched a GoFundMe appeal to allow our fans and the wider football public to contribute in any way possible to the efforts to “Bring Football Home” to Finn Park. A target of €30,000 has been set, which will be used to progress the plans being drawn up by Harps Infrastructure Coordinator to facilitate hosting matches in Finn Park in compliance with COVID19 risk controls.
To donate to this appeal, visit https://www.gofundme.com/f/hometofinnpark.
