SOME SEASONED FAI watchers say the week ahead of an AGM or General Assembly meeting is usually dominated by some internecine controversy or another, given the FAI’s internal problems have a habit of becoming public at a time of maximum impact.
All was quiet on that front in the lead-up to yesterday’s AGM in Dublin, however, and so the mingling of tension and anticipation that often tightens the air at these meetings was absent.
Instead the FAI put forward a united front in amplifying the case they are making to the government for investment into the sport, with president Paul Cooke telling delegates to ensure they and their members remind every prospective TD they meet ahead of the next election of that message.
Interim CEO David Courell echoed this, and said he has seen a “huge uplift in the government’s desire to invest in the sport.” The FAI are seeking €863 million over the next 15 years to invest in football facilities across the country, and want €517 million of that to come from central government.
Courell shared the message which he and the FAI’s top brass have been telling Leinster House: this is not a “handout”, but a stimulus to “kickstart an industry.”
“We are asking them to invest in Irish football, not in the FAI”, said Courell, adding that the FAI’s role is as a group of “credible individuals” who will ensure the money goes to the correct places.
The Football Association of Credible Individuals is not the most exciting mission statement but it is certainly progress from our days of celebrity administrators.
That credibility is derived from the FAI’s governance overhaul: their state bailout came with 163 recommendations and changes, with which the FAI are 98% compliant.
“We have undergone single-handedly the biggest change programme the biggest change programme any sport in this country has ever undergone”, Courell told the media afterwards, “and we don’t get the credit for it because it’s not the sexy stuff that sells papers.” Another credible point.
Courell then gave delegates the pitch the FAI has been giving to government, and it was impressive work. The FAI are asking for money, but they are clear on where it should come from. The FAI want to raise the betting levy from 2% to 3%, saying this would bring in another €50 million to the State’s coffers every year. The FAI want €30 million of that additional money, given football accounts for more bets every year than any other sport. That ask would go almost all the way to meeting the FAI’s 15-year infrastructure ask.
The FAI say Ireland’s betting levy is the lowest in the EU, and they point to Portugal as to a model to follow. Fourteen football federations across Europe are part-funded by a betting level, and the Portuguese FA derive 30% of their income from theirs, almost €38 million last year.
They are also playing the Euro 2028 card, which the FAI estimate will net the Irish economy €14o million. They are pointing to the UK government’s commitment to spending £550 million on grassroots facilities as a tournament legacy, so the FAI have told the Irish government they should be seen to be doing the same: matching that UK on a pro rata basis would deliver between €49 and €50 million.
This was an instance of the FAI leveraging the potential of Euro 2028, though a close view of the annual accounts show a cruel irony, and a reminder of the scale of the FAI’s problems. While Uefa will grant the FAI a €9 million bonus for co-hosting the tournament, the FAI also owe Uefa a €4 million loan (plus 1% interest) for a loan given in 2020 to keep the lights on. That loan is due to be repaid in. . . 2028. So there’s that hosting bonus almost halved right away.
LOI director Mark Scanlon, meanwhile, ran through the separate ask to inject immediate funds into professional academies. The urgency of doing so was flagged by the FAI earlier this year, given Ireland’s investment, facilities, and coaching numbers make them a minnow by European standards.
The FAI this week submitted a full request for €20 million across the next two years for this purpose. The Department of Finance have been the point of contact, though the money would technically come from the EU’s Brexit adjustment reserve fund, which set aside more than a billion euro to help any Irish industry disrupted by the will of 52% of the British people.
So if you’re an Irish fan looking for hope and optimism, this was the stuff to pay attention to.
There was nothing like the rancour or division from the floor of previous meetings held since John Delaney’s exit, but there were still a couple of uncomfortable questions for the Credible Individuals.
Stuart Gilhooly of the PFAI rounded on Marc Canham and the board on the process which led to the appointment of Heimir Hallgrimsson as Ireland men’s head coach.
“We were told last March that an appointment would be made in April”, said Gilhooly. “It couldn’t be made until then due to ‘contractual’ reasons around that candidate. Clearly that candidate did not get appointed, and a new candidate was appointed in July, which is Heimir. We were subsequently told, unequivocally, that Heimir was the first choice for the job.
“Now, both of these things cannot be true, because Heimir was contracted to Jamaica at this time for the COPA America [in July]. I’d like to know why we why were told something what is effectively a lie?”
Canham strode from the floor to the lecturn to insist that the FAI did not lie about the process: Hallgrimsson was the first choice, but he regretted saying in March that they would have a candidate in April but not before owing to his “existing contractual arrangements.”
Asked about the announcement of Hallgrimsson, coming only two days after the FAI held a press conference addressing historic cases of abuse, Courell admitted the timing was regrettable, but the FAI had to move quickly as they were afraid of losing Hallgrimsson to somebody else.
The questions surrounding Hallgrimsson’s appointment persist, despite the FAI’s increasingly exasperated explanations.
Courell’s nugget of information was new, though, and asked about it afterwards, he acknowledged that Hallgrimsson was “on the open market.”
Thus the FAI’s explanation of the whole thing is now that they identified Hallgrimsson as the candidate in March, said that month they could not unveil him until April because of his contractual obligations, and then completed the deal with “regrettable” timing in July because he was still on the open market and was, according to Courell, courted by others with “deeper pockets” than the FAI.
The FAI continue to acknowledge they made a mistake in announcing the April deadline, but none of the interim CEO, president nor chairman were able to explain why they decided to make the March announcement, given no deal was done.
Cooke repeated multiple times the FAI made a mistake in announcing, without answering why they did so. Chairman Tony Keohane eventually said “there is no reason” the FAI made the announcement.
Cooke also said the FAI would “take the learnings” from the experience, and they have certainly done so in regard to the latest exhaustive process to fill an important position, that of CEO. Courell has been acting on an interim basis since Jonathan Hill booked his final flight back to England in April, and the accounts stated a permanent CEO will be appointed in “late 2024.”
No final candidate has been identified, said Keohane, but they have a number of candidates in “the final phase.” We understand interviews were held last week, with Courell in the mix along with Swim Ireland CEO Sarah Keane and Munster Rugby CEO Ian Flanagan.
“There’s no timeframe on this”, said Keohane, showing the FAI have learned what they deem to be the lesson of the protracted manager’s search.
The FAI have spent the last few years’ worth of AGMs stressing that they have learned their lessons, and the prize in return is the State investment the sport so badly needs. It is ultimately on its delivery this FAI administration will be judged.
