THE FAI HAVE today confirmed the delay to the planned implementation of an aligned calendar for all levels of the sport in Ireland. 

In a letter today to affiliates, seen by The 42, president Paul Cooke confirmed that the FAI board has approved a slight delay in implementation period, while also confirming that leagues opposing the move to an aligned calendar will be exempted from doing so for two years, if they satisfy several criteria. 

The aligned calendar is more generally known as ‘summer soccer’, and is a key plank of the FAI’s Football Pathways Plan.

Citing evidence that Ireland is the only one of Uefa’s 55 member nations operating different calendars at different levels of the game – the LOI plays a ‘summer’ season from February to November, whereas many underage and adult amateur leagues operate a ‘winter’ season broadly in line with the school year – the plan proposed moving, on a phased basis, all levels of the game to the same summer season by 2028.

That remains the FAI’s objective, though today’s letter said the requirement that U5 to U12 leagues align with the summer season has been postponed by a year until 1 January 2027. The requirement that U13 to U16 leagues transition by the same date remains in place, as does the requirement for youth and adult leagues to transition by 1 January 2028. The FAI also say they encourage all leagues to make the move prior to these dates. 

The proposed move has proved extremely divisive, however, with the Carlow and District Football League, for instance, insisting they would not adopt the change and that every league across the country should have the “right of choice”. That opposition persisted after the vote, with the emergence of a putative breakaway organisation, titled the Grassroots Amateur Football Clubs of Ireland.

Some clubs and leagues expressed fears that they would lose playing members if they switched to an aligned calendar, as it would pit them in opposition to GAA.

Within this context, the FAI board has approved a two-year exemption for any league not yet ready to make the move to an aligned calendar. Cooke’s letter says that the exemption process is designed for leagues “who can demonstrate clear, evidence-based barriers to a successful transition.”

Leagues applying for an exemption must give evidence of a formal member club vote within their league, illustrate “significant refereeing shortages”, demonstrate “severe pitch/facility congestion”, and give evidence of a “significant negative impact on participation due to seasonal conflicts”.

These exemptions will be reviewed twice a year, and exemptions will be granted by a sub-group, which will be chaired by the FAI president. The sub-group will consist of three of the elected “football” directors of the FAI, along with three “senior members of the FAI executive team”.

The move to the aligned calendar was initially endorsed by the whole of the FAI board, who sought a mandate by putting it to a vote among the FAI’s delegates, where it was approved by a slim, 57% majority. Speaking on that night, Cooke told delegates that their vote had “changed the face of Irish football”. 

The FAI have been contacted for comment.

Meanwhile, Siptu members at the FAI have rejected the Association’s proposed job cuts as part of their “transformation plan”, with the trade union describing the strategy as “the actions of a rogue management team attacking workers, as well as the core purpose of the organisation”, saying “the proposed job losses are massively skewed towards football operations at the FAI”. 

Per Siptu, the FAI are seeking to shed 60 jobs, with approximately 100 employees contacted and told their roles were being discontinued and they should reapply for work with the organisation. Siptu say they have written to the Workplace Relations Commission, seeking an intervention. 

With reporting by David Sneyd