This episode is a chat with Gerard Lawlor, Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland Football League.

Gerard has been CEO since 2021. Professionally, he was in the hospitality industry as a chef for years, but crucially, always a fan and latterly director and chairman of Cliftonville FC. 

He has clear understanding of the needs of his member clubs both as institutions but also as businesses that need to satisfy fans both as customer and stakeholder, whilst building new loyalties amongst non-traditional fans, particularly women and girls.  

I just sat back and listened for large parts of this interview. He had so much interesting stuff to say about a league that is clearly undergoing a renaissance, and clubs that are finding themselves more popular than they’ve been for a long time.

You can hear how their success was supercharged by Covid, and how their strength really is that they’re close to their fans. 

I really enjoyed chatting with Gerard, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy listening to it too. 

Episode Links

• Northern Ireland Football League: https://www.nifootballleague.com 
• Glentoran FC: https://www.glentoran.com
• Larne FC https://larnefc.com 

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