THE FAI HAVE admitted they missed an opportunity to secure vital funding for professional League of Ireland academies via an EU Brexit fund, but will have clarity from the government on whether they will receive their requested annual €10 million investment by the end of this year.
Speaking at the FAI AGM 11 days ago, interim CEO David Courell said the FAI hoped to receive funds toward investment in League of Ireland academies via the EU’s Brexit Reserve Fund.
But the FAI left it too late to apply, with the deadline now closed.
The fund was created to help industries negatively affected by Brexit, with Ireland receiving the largest single portion of it, totalling €802 million. The FAI argue they have been negatively impacted by Britain’s withdrawal from the EU as it means that 16 and 17 year old footballers can no longer sign for UK clubs, shutting off access to high-calibre coaching academies until they are at least 18. This, the FAI argue, accentuates the need for investment in professional League of Ireland academies.
Courell told AGM delegates the FAI had targeted a total of €20 million from the Brexit Reserve Fund for this purpose, telling media afterwards that the FAI had submitted an application to government earlier this month in the hope of receiving some unspent allocation.
Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohoe today confirmed that the FAI would not be able to access any of this funding, however, as they have missed the deadline.
“All the negotiations on the Brexit Adjustment Reserve concluded some time ago”, he said.
Speaking to media a couple of hours later at a briefing on the progress of the player pathways plan, FAI chief football officer Marc Canham conceded the FAI missed an opportunity in not applying for this money earlier.
“We are happy to accept we may have missed an opportunity there, as an association, not the government, on that specific fund”, said Canham.
As to how the FAI missed this opportunity will raise internal questions at Abbotstown - The 42 understands some senior leadership staff raised the possibility of applying for this fund as far back as 2021, when Jonathan Hill was CEO.
The FAI are seeking €10 million annually from government for investment in LOI academies, and one potential source of that revenue is an increase in the betting levy. The levy is currently set at 2% on each bet placed in Ireland, and the money goes to the sports of horse and greyhound racing regardless of the sport on which a bet has been placed.
The FAI, along with the Federation of Irish Sport, are lobbying for an increase to 3% and for approximately 30% of the increase to be diverted to football. Courell told AGM delegates this would earn the FAI another €30 million per year.
Asked whether the FAI would have clarity on the betting levy proposal by the end of the year, grassroots director Ger McDermott said, “I’m not sure on that one. What I’m pleased with is that others are asking for the same thing, we feel it’s a viable option for all sport.”
Canham says the FAI expect to have clarity on academy funding by the end of this year.
“Before the end of the year we’ll know where we are”, he said. “I don’t know what an announcement will look like but certainly our conversation with Government on that specific item, we’ll have a good understanding of where we are by the end of the year.
“I wouldn’t say we’re leaving this deliberately. We are very proactive speaking to Government regularly on a number of matters, including League of Ireland academies. So I wouldn’t say we’re leaving it and being complacent in any way.
“We believe around €10 million per annum would absolutely transform player development and academies in this country, Will get get all of that? Not sure. But we presented different ways you can do that. We think around €10 million would help us catch up and accelerate. Lesser money would mean that we might not go at the rate we want to go.”
LOI academies are among the least-resourced in Europe, with an average annual budget of €500,000, ranking Ireland among relative minnows, namely Albania, Andorra, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bosnia, Cyprus, Estonia, Faroe Islands, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Northern Ireland, Romania and San Marino.
Irish academies have less than one full-time development employee per club: Northern Ireland, Andorra, and Luxembourg are the only European countries with so few full-time staff.
The FAI plan to disburse whatever money they do get to clubs according to a three-tier accredited system, called the Academy Mark, which has yet to be finalised.
The FAI did receive better news in today’s sports capital announcement, with football benefitting from its largest-ever single allocation. A total of 371 football applications were granted a total of €41.4 million, which sports minister Thomas Byrne saying this was a “very big win” for the sport, paying tribute to the FAI’s work in helping various clubs apply for the grants.
