 available on the all new Kia Sport Hatch and Kia Seed range. Call us today to book your test drive on 074 91 34567 or visit iMotors.ie. Highland Sport is brought to you by Michael Murphy Sports and Leisure Letter Kenny. Cross the finish line and style with trainers from MichaelMurphySports.ie And you're very welcome back to Highland Radio Sunday Sport, an extremely busy day here in the sports desk. But our big Sunday interview of course I'm delighted to welcome into studio Ian Harkin from Funharps, the new Funharps chairman and Aidan Campbell, the commercial officer. Guys thanks very much for joining us here on Highland Radio Sunday Sport. It's great to have you in. Looking forward to a brand new season and no doubt first of all we'll touch on the new appointments. Ian you're back in as chairman. How does that feel? It's great. It's a huge honour. I suppose I've been following Harps since I was a kid at very young age going all around the country there with Harps so it's great to be back on the board. It's my second term on the board. I was on it over 20 years ago when I came straight out of college. I did a couple of years as assistant treasurer and treasurer and I've been traveling abroad and doing other things and I suppose I'm back now with a young family so it's difficult finding time for it but if you don't put your hand up you'll never do it I suppose. And that's obviously been a driving factor for you as well so I'll fair you or tell me about when you used to go to the matches for your dad who's heavily involved as well and that that's something that you want to try and bring back to Fun Park as well bringing families and getting them together at matches. Yeah I mean that's where football you know it's not emotional connection and through parents and passing it on to their kids and I suppose it's our local club as well like Harps is the only team in the league that has Donegal written on their crest and that means something to me anyway you know I've lived abroad for 15 years and whenever you're speaking to people from different countries you know it's Harps is Donegal and Donegal is Fun Harps so yeah it's a big thing for me. We're also joining passion one thing that Ollie Horgan brings and you've been appointed the commercial manager this year and it's an exciting time as well from your point of view as well back staying in the Premier League was massive for Fun Harps last year. Definitely you know like the I suppose like any business we're coming out of the lockdowns and we're looking back and thinking you know thank God to get through that okay and you know just paying tribute to all our volunteers again absolutely amazing how the volunteers and supporters backed the club through that difficult period we people joined the 500 Club which is a kind of a lifeblood for us the men just kept doing the lotto we changed a lot of our business online like our shop so we were delighted to get supporters back in at the end of the season and was a fantastic atmosphere against Longford so we a lot of changes in the squad for this year as everybody knows but Ollie's been busy since the final whistle against Longford Town working hard behind the scenes so we put aside together I think we've got some exciting players coming in so we're looking forward now to Friday the 18th against Strada and looking to people to help us we've got a campaign starting called Pack the Park which we're hoping people will come out and really get out and get behind the team from the start new players coming in as I said we're looking forward to seeing how they'll all knit together I think everybody knows that any team managed by Ollie will give it a hundred and ten percent and but that the crowd just gives you that that X factor as Ian was saying was just tremendous to see so many young supporters enjoying themselves at the Longford match so we've come out with a special season ticket now which is just five euros for the whole season for any primary school child so people can get that on Finn Harps.ai so we're all set to go and yeah we're looking really relish it now that the kickoff on Friday the 18th I suppose and that's a huge incentive as well to get families in a fiver under 12s it's quite good it's quite good it's great actually great value for the full season so Ian in your point of view looking at the overall strategy in the business model this year we had a talk with that as well and it was something that I suppose as Finn Harps they are of course they are a full-time team necessarily but maybe suppose from a part-time point of view it's more seen like that yeah I mean one of the key things that I want to do is build in that sustainable business model and key to that is really is to move more towards you know everybody having season tickets like when COVID came in one of the great things about it from an administrative perspective is that everybody started buying their tickets online now that just means everything's banked and it's you know all the administration side of that is done from you know we are as Aidan says there's so many volunteers involved in it in the club and you know if we can automate certain things and make people's jobs easier and certainly getting that financial commitment at the beginning of the year allows us to budget it properly we know how much we can spend on players you know you're not dependent on what happens with the weather or what game is on TV that Friday night or you know the performance on the field as well I suppose you know all of those factors make it for a very difficult job to budget you know for the year so if we can get more players to or sorry more fans to buy season tickets for me it'd be the next big move and that gives you the strategy moving forward that gives you the opportunity to create more you know revenue streams in that particular way but also the big talking point is the stadium people really want to know in where's that going and how's that developing for you it's the talking to talking to Northwest it's it's it's something and you know we've been working on for a very long time and so many different external factors has affected you know the building of the stadium and most recently I suppose within the construction industry inflationary costs have just spiraled but we're looking at some redesigns and we've we've now been given a grant by the government of four million and we estimate that we need to raise another two and a half million to do that so with our partners in the FAI in the council but actually it's more now down to the club we need to start fundraising ourselves and we need to start looking at you know really making moves this year and getting back out down to the you know getting back out and laying the pitch this year that's one of the goals that I would have for this year now is that we start doing some fundraising and get get the pitch late at the beginning get all the funds in for the stands and get going yeah it's fantastic and suppose Eden from your point of view have any and besides you and keeping that commercial aspect right as well because at the end of the day it's having you know the creating atmosphere having a good product to sell as well but there is and a huge aspect around fun park a community based as well it's huge community you know and you walk around our ground and you go there's you know the guys from Donegal town there's the Inno Show and Sporters Club there's the Finn Valley west of the county and it really is county wide and it's west Tarone as well so you know it's it's it really has got that community feel about it and for a club that doesn't really employ any full-time staff it's extraordinary what has been achieved I think this is going to be our sixth year out of seven in the Premier Division and when I look at the you know the resources that other teams have I think there's seven or eight of them you know have huge backers in the division and it's very difficult for us to compete against that and so we do ask a lot of people but you know the local businesses again are to the four and the five hundred club members and the guys who do our lotto they're the really are the guardian angels of senior football in Donegal and it's extraordinary that you know that the club you know keeps competing at this level because you know the if you look at the history of League of Ireland a lot of clubs have gone to the wall and that's due just to you know extraordinary people and meaning myself and Ian will well know that the people who came before us were following their footsteps you know and Sean Quinn who stood down as chairman this year Derek Wilkinson people like Seamus Gallagher still around is Charlie McHugh who a local legend on the lotto so we've all these kind of legends off the pitch as well as on the pitch and but you know my self and Ian we grew up in the terraces and we know what it's like to be a supporter and we grew up with great players and from Ian's a bit younger to me so you might he might remember Brendan Bradley but you know Colin McLaughlin and you know we recently Kevin McHugh's now head of our Academy Tom Mowen, Paddy McGrath and just great players and you know the fans and the younger fans they're always looking for new heroes and when they invaded the pitch against Longford I just didn't know that many kids existed in what he called Nevermind the Finn Park and they were all up to the players and they were really enjoying the life football experience and that's what we're offering we're saying to the public you know and you know the football is not just about watching on television it's about being part of something being part of a club being proud to be from the Northwest and then they go all again behind your club and the kids love it so that's why we came up with this ticket and we're hoping that people will back it and you know we've got other things to look forward to we're looking we're hoping to launch the new home jersey this week yeah I was gonna ask you about the home jersey it's it's good to go then that case we're looking forward to it oh god it's it's well you know you're something you go forward for the kind of like what social media now it's like a jury for each club and you so what might look good to me you know I don't go on my own judgment where I put it through a lot of younger younger eyes but yeah no I think they'll enjoy it we've got you know as I said it was hard work coming through the lockdowns but we came out with new facilities new sponsor and we launched the away jersey they're just for Christmas and a great response to us and so yeah the the new home jersey will be launched this week and you know you're gonna be getting the tight fit one as well I'll go for maybe one of the jackets or something I'll take that but I'll do the same myself also just before let you go guys and you just touched on the kids it is about the kids and getting them there but harps have been doing phenomenal work around the schools and around the Academy and everything and Ian and touching on that that brings in brings in a lot more different people and different dynamic and into fun park it does yeah I mean the privilege of being introduced to all of the new coaches there this week actually and you know they have forwards coaches defense coaches sprint coaches they've video analysts the nutritionist strength and conditioning it is proper elite football it's exactly what the top clubs in the UK have and that's bringing in people from every single town and village right across Donegal into the Fenhouse brand and and if you go around the towns in Donegal you see kids wearing the outfits you know they are from the academies but as Ian says as well there our online shop is actually doing phenomenally well so it's great it's the first year that we've launched it and huge sales just before Christmas so I suppose it was a no-brainer yeah and it's great to get that younger generation involved in the club it's all it's all looking very positive and before we let you go let's draw the next week hits all all eyes on the prize there no doubt all he's brought in 10 you say and suppose and that's it's it's going to be important because if you look from last year's side to this year's side there's a lot of changes there well I've never seen a year where there's been such competition for senior players and you look at the teams like Bose and St. Pat's phenomenal seasons lost nine or ten of their squad and I had to be very busy the transfer market but you know once again as I said Ollie's been on planes trains and all mobiles not just in this country looking at players coached making sure that they're up to standard so I think and I think we can be cautiously optimistic about and about the game going forward so we're looking forward see them see them in action we're cautiously optimistic well hopefully hopefully we'll see a victory from there lads thanks very much for joining us Ian Harkin the new Harps chairman and Aidan Campbell the new commercial officer as well thanks for joining us here on Highland Railways on this board