Dundalk: From Europe to crisis in four years – the rise and fall of former champions

This is not the first time the club has faced financial challenges. In 1998 they were forced to transfer list their entire first team and also had difficulties as recently as 2012, before recovering to their unprecedented success.

In the not so distant past, Dundalk were the team to beat in the League of Ireland with five titles and three FAI Cups in the space of seven seasons.

They are also the only league of Ireland club to reach the group stages of the Europa League twice (2016-17 and 2020-21).

What has followed has been a period of sharp decline, which has coincided with management changes under various ownership.

On the pitch, Dundalk are currently embroiled in a relegation battle and sit bottom of the table with six matches remaining. In 2022 they finished third and were fifth last year.

Club legend-turned-manager Stephen O’Donnell was let go after a disappointing start to the season with another former player, Brian Gartland, replacing him on an interim basis.

Noel King was eventually appointed as permanent manager, but his tenure lasted 25 days and he left the role, citing medical issues. Jon Daly has been in charge since.

The decline on the pitch has been married with a bleak outlook off it with growing debts reported to be seven figures and in the club has had four separate ownership regimes in recent years.

Current owner US-based Irish businessman Brian Ainscough purchased the club from Andy Connolly and StatSports in December 2023.

Connolly, who had previously owned the club with local businessman Paul Brown, had sold it to an American investment firm Peak6 in 2018 before re-buying the club with StatSports in 2021.

In terms of Ainscough’s acquisition of the club, the Football Association of Ireland [FAI] admitted that a “loophole” meant not all financial checks were carried out before the ownership change.

Speaking at the FAI’s AGM in September, interim chief executive David Courell conceded that the club’s Premier Division Licence had been completed a month prior to the takeover, meaning financial checks were carried out on the previous owners rather than the prospective new ones.

Fears over the club’s finances and ability to finish the season came to light in recent weeks when players and staff had their wages delayed.

Ainscough admitted in a statement that the club were experiencing “financial difficulties” and his attempts to secure additional investment did not come through for “various reasons”.

That was followed by fears the club could go under on Monday, but talks to secure the club’s future are ongoing.