FOOTBALL-mad Darren Bernstein has netted a top job with the Eircom League in Southern Ireland.

The 26-year-old Whitefield man has been appointed the League's first-ever marketing and development executive.

Earlier Darren, of Ripon Avenue, had graduated with a unique FIFA-recognised International Masters degree in law, management and humanities of sport.

As part of the course, sponsored by FIFA, Darren studied at Switzerland's University of Neuchatal and Milan's Bocconi University as well as De Montfort University in Leicester.

Last summer, the former Manchester Grammar School pupil had a dream three-months secondment in Atlanta, USA.

He undertook a stint in football marketing at the headquarters of sponsorship giants Coca Cola.

After returning home to Whitefield for Christmas, Darren later went to work for the Eircom League before landing his top appointment.

The avid Bury FC fan admits that while he doesn't know everything about Irish soccer, "as a keen football follower, I would have known quite a lot about the Eircom League before I started."

He sees his new and challenging role primarily as an adviser to the clubs. Darren wants to actively promote the League, although increased publicity in the media is not his main aim.

He sees fans as the key. "At the moment, football clubs have a core support, but it's not big enough for what we want to achieve. Clubs have a lot to do to promote themselves," stressed Darren.

"Football is no longer a game," he added. "It's a day out. We have to make it a family occasion.

"If the people who go to the matches enjoy themselves, they will tell their friends, who will tell their friends, and so on."

Darren is also keen to introduce a Football in the Community project.