Eamon Dunphy: #Saveourgame has stripped the Irish game bare

Eamon Dunphy has revealed his disgust and heartbreak over the stories that have emerged from football clubs around Ireland over the past number of weeks as teams fight it out at Euro 2020.

The well-known pundit is acting as a ‘watchdog’ and frontman for our #saveourgame campaign, whereby we have vowed to donate €10k for every goal scored by England during the Euros.

With 10 goals clocked up (technically 9, with a bonus own goal thanks to Denmark) ahead of this weekend, we are currently on the hook for a €100,000 donation.

And with Kane and Co finding their form in the final throes of the tournament, we are bracing themselves for a further donation thanks to our pledge as Sunday’s Euro 2020 final looms.

Dunphy was brought onboard along with ex Ireland international Damien Delaney to we made good their promise to put cash into the hands of Irish clubs that need it most.

But, he admits that even he has been left shocked by the scale and span of applications that have come through to us, with hundreds of pleas from clubs all over the country.

“There are men and women getting changed in units that look more like abattoirs than dressing rooms – and they’re the lucky ones. Most clubs don’t even have the luxury of toilet, never mind a place to tog out before matches.

“It’s a sad indictment on the sport in Ireland that it takes a company like Paddy Power to tear through the red tape to get cash to clubs and share their stories in such a public way. But, by doing so, they have stripped the game bare and exposed the naked truth of how desperate things really are for countless clubs all over Ireland. Too many are in dire straits,” he added.

However, Dunphy is confident that the cash pot for donations to Irish football clubs via #saveourgame will surpass Paddy Power’s 10 goal/€100,000 expectation.

I think England will score two more goals on Sunday night.

“That’s another €20k donated by Paddy Power to Irish football, and if it means money in the bank for local clubs, I’ll put up with the nausea. Like a lot of Irish fans though, I hope ultimately that Italy do them on Sunday night. The thoughts of listening to the English come Monday morning if they win is just too hard to stomach.”

England have got their destiny in their hands and our bank account by the balls it and we can’t ever remember a time when the bean counters in our finance department feared the prospect of Sterling converting to euros more. Meanwhile, more than a quarter (26%) of Irish people are apparently praying for England to win, according to our most recent poll.

* Applications for the #saveourgame campaign, which can be sent to [email protected], will close once the final whistle blows at the conclusion of the Euro 2020.