David Sneyd

PACKIE BONNER WAS in his element last Friday night on The Late Late Show.

Surrounded by some of the Republic of Ireland players from Italia 90, the former goalkeeper was invited to bask in the nostalgia among an audience only too willing to lap it up.

The appearance was part of a weekend of celebrations to coincide with St Patrick’s Day, as we approach the 35th anniversary of that summer’s World Cup. There were live shows in Dublin and in Cork with Bonner et al, although most of the country would have got their fix through the Late Late.

Bonner was in fine form with host Patrick Kielty, who a week earlier had the managers of the two senior teams, Carla Ward and Heimir Hallgrímsson, on the show. There was an excruciating exchange with them about just how scary Bonner was during their interview process, with Ward revealing he was the only one of seven people in the room asking football-related questions.

Hallgrimsson smiled and nodded and – seeing as he admitted later that he’s not too fond of interviews in such settings – probably wished he was anywhere else.

Bonner returned to a position of prominence with the FAI in 2021, when he was appointed to the board as an independent director, with a designation to oversee the high-performance element of the FAI.

The Late Late – and Italia 90 celebration – may not have been the ideal setting for more probing questions about the most serious issue affecting Irish football and its long-term health.

It’s probably just as well Bonner wasn’t pressed more on the fallout to the FAI’s centralised coaching programme – 45 days of training during school holidays for 25 of the best 14 to 17 year-olds – that has angered League of Ireland clubs.

The mood in Montrose might well have changed dramatically given Bonner made it clear to more than one person on the FAI board that he was furious at the way in which the centralised plan was completely dismissed by the Premier Clubs Alliance – the representative body of the 10 Premier Division clubs.

Sources confirmed that Bonner was irate at their refusal to release players.

Those who have Bonner’s ear were left in no doubt about his feelings on the matter. The legend of Irish football, who not so long ago advocated for Celtic buying a League of Ireland team to be “a feeder club”, was understood to be fuming at the stance of clubs.

Bonner is hardly a strong presence around FAI headquarters or League of Ireland grounds and this disconnect has not gone unnoticed. In a role overseeing high performance, his attitude towards professional teams in this country has left a lot to be desired among those on the coalface of the game.

This apparent disagreement with the belief League of Ireland clubs should take control of player development through the academy system in a post-Brexit landscape hints at wider concerns being felt in the aftermath of that disastrous presentation made by FAI chief footballer officer Marc Canham and his deputy Shane Robinson to the PCA.

How respective contact hours between current academies and the new FAI plan were calculated was one of the primary reasons for disagreement.

At the subsequent meeting of the National League Committee – the body that runs the League of Ireland – a formal request was made to the FAI to receive all documentation relating to discussions and communications that took place with government over the previous 12 months relating to academy funding for clubs.

Former Minister for Sport Michael Ring was in that meeting of the NLC and, as reported by the Irish Examiner earlier this week, now sits on the committee.

His arrival has been heralded as a positive among some in FAI HQ who don’t want to see the issue of academy funding dropping off the radar. Recent comments by the new Minister for Sport, Michael O’Donovan, that progress wasn’t imminent caused concern but have also been put down to a new appointee not being fully briefed on various matters.

There is, however, concern that the latest centralised plan will only muddy the waters and lead to further confusion about where any funding will actually be directed. As part of the new Memorandum of Understanding that was agreed last November, which saw Government provide €6 million to fund FAI, there were details of an additional €1m being allocated for the purposes of “football development”.

On the back of the centralised coaching plan, some are attempting to join the dots.

Ring was central to all talks relating to academy funding in 2024, perhaps more than is even currently known. While it’s acknowledged that he was instrumental in setting up a meeting last summer with then Minister for Public Expenditure Paschal Donohue, the now-retired TD’s first meeting with FAI staff came last February.

He’s had a lifelong involvement in football in his native Mayo and his ties to Westport United are unbreakable. Under the guise of a discussion about Mayo FC, it was instead made clear to him about the stark reality on the ground and need for funding in League of Ireland academies.

This was February 2024 and what followed was a steady, strong campaign that played out in public and behind closed doors. When an invite from Ring’s office to present to a cross-party grouping of TDs subsequently landed at the League of Ireland department in Abbotstown, it was done as a concerted effort on Ring’s part to allow them be the ones to make their case for LOI clubs’ cause.

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The FAI’s League of Ireland academy manager Will Clarke was joined by Robinson in a show of unity in that cross-party gathering, with both laying out in stark terms how much financial assistance was required.

Such was the positive feedback to those talks, Ring was able to continue his work behind the scenes and open another door to Minister for Public Expenditure Donohue. Momentum was building and, with the continued support of Ring, confidence among the League of Ireland department, and clubs, was growing. In that smaller meeting with Donohue was Ring and interim FAI chief executive David Courell, who has since been made permanent.

Indeed, it was felt that an announcement outlining how funds would be allocated would have happened by this point. That optimism has been misplaced and, following the general election, those in Government who were central to this have moved to different departments.

Academy funding was highlighted in the Programme for Government but the last couple of weeks have shown that unless there really is a united front on what’s required in terms of financial assistance then it’s unlikely to be forthcoming.

Ring’s presence is a positive but doesn’t guarantee anything, and Bonner’s frustration is misplaced if he can’t see the merit of League of Ireland clubs being at the forefront of change rather than being pushed to the side.