THE FAI BOARD will convene for their next scheduled meeting next Tuesday, at which they must decide whether to approve a restructure of the association that will lead to job losses.
The Association remain burdened by debt of around €40 million, and senior sources insist to The 42 that this restructure is necessary to modernise the FAI and move it forward, pointing out that their staff numbers are larger than equivalent national associations across Europe.
It’s not known how many jobs will be lost under the proposed restructure, though it’s understood that any lay-offs would begin with a voluntary redundancy process.
Meanwhile, FAI staff represented by Siptu released a statement this week in which they criticised what they believe is a lack of engagement from the FAI on the matter. (The FAI say CEO David Courell has engaged with Siptu workers on the restructure.)
“The short-term fixes that are being presented by management do not meet the scale of improvements Irish football needs”, said Siptu organiser, Hugh Kennedy. “We are particularly concerned that staff have not been adequately engaged about the rationale and goals of many of these proposed changes.”
Siptu sector organiser Robbie Purfield also had a message for the FAI board.
“If the board presses ahead with any major change without consultation with Siptu and its members”, he said, “the damage to grassroots football could be long-lasting and irreversible. This in turn would also have a major impact on the international teams in years to come.”
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Hence the board have a significant and difficult decision ahead of them later this month. The 42 understands that the board were initially supposed to vote on the restructure at their scheduled meeting last month, but sought more time to make their decision.
But in the context of last month’s decision around the aligned calendar, one well-placed Abbotstown source says senior staff at the FAI are now doubting the board’s present appetite to make difficult decisions, such as to go forth with the restructure.
That this doubt exists goes to highlight the internal ramifications of the board’s reverse on the aligned calendar. One FAI staff member involved in the pathways plan recently expressed the view that they are owed an apology from the board over their decision to exempt leagues from its adoption.
Changing the registration period for underage and amateur football to bring it into line with the League of Ireland season was one of the key recommendations of the football pathways plan, which was fronted by now-former chief football officer, Marc Canham.
Though it was met by opposition from many grassroots leagues at the time, the FAI board unanimously endorsed the aligned calendar and the pathways plan as a whole, while seeking a mandate by kicking it to a vote among all FAI delegates at its General Assembly. Its adoption was passed by a slim majority – with 57% in favour – after which president Paul Cooke praised delegates for “changing the face of Irish football.”
But now that face is looking pretty familiar, with the board deciding last month to draw up terms of reference under which leagues would be given an exemption if they didn’t fancy falling into line with the aligned calendar.
While there have been many fair and good-faith arguments and concerns set out by leagues against the aligned calendar – or summer soccer – including the risk to playing numbers of going against tradition and the GAA, the facts remain the FAI board unanimously endorsed the move and received the mandate they then sought for its implementation.
But when it came down to implementing it, the board didn’t hold firm. That the Association’s board cannot implement decisions they themselves have endorsed is hardly indicative of a healthy, dynamic organisation, and raised doubts as to whether the executive are truly empowered to get on with their jobs.
Several sources say some board members’ decision to exempt leagues from the aligned calendar was motivated by the desire to retain their seats ahead of the next AGM, at which nine of 14 board positions are up for ratification or re-election. The FAI did not comment when we put this claim to them.
Another reasoning from sources for the exemption was to avoid some grassroots leagues breaking away into their own organisation, as was mooted by some of the aligned calendar’s most trenchant opponents.
The Association are meanwhile understood to be in the final stages of identifying a candidate to succeed Canham. It is a crucial role, but it can’t have filled any of the contenders with confidence to see a key pillar of their predecessor’s plan shelved by the board after enthusiastic public backing.
This context goes to show why the upcoming decision on the restructure has, rightly or wrongly, become a test as to whether the FAI board are currently empowering their senior executives to get on with their work.
The FAI will meanwhile appear in front of the Oireachtas Sport Committee on 24 September to answer questions around their safeguarding procedures, but the biggest political test of all will come on Tuesday, 7 October, which is expected to be budget day.
The Association have commissioned Belgian consultancy company DoublePass to audit all League of Ireland academies as part of their pitch for State funding, and their final report is expected within the next fortnight. This audit is key to unlocking the government’s promise to provide funding for professional LOI academies, which the FAI have committed to including in the 2026 budget.
Missing their own self-imposed deadline would be highly damaging for the FAI: if the aligned calendar exemption staved off a grassroots breakaway, failure to deliver on academy funding will accelerate any proposed League of Ireland breakaway.
These are likely to be a defining few weeks for the FAI.
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Static FAI faces defining few weeks as job cuts loom and key decisions go unmade
THE FAI BOARD will convene for their next scheduled meeting next Tuesday, at which they must decide whether to approve a restructure of the association that will lead to job losses.
The Association remain burdened by debt of around €40 million, and senior sources insist to The 42 that this restructure is necessary to modernise the FAI and move it forward, pointing out that their staff numbers are larger than equivalent national associations across Europe.
It’s not known how many jobs will be lost under the proposed restructure, though it’s understood that any lay-offs would begin with a voluntary redundancy process.
Meanwhile, FAI staff represented by Siptu released a statement this week in which they criticised what they believe is a lack of engagement from the FAI on the matter. (The FAI say CEO David Courell has engaged with Siptu workers on the restructure.)
“The short-term fixes that are being presented by management do not meet the scale of improvements Irish football needs”, said Siptu organiser, Hugh Kennedy. “We are particularly concerned that staff have not been adequately engaged about the rationale and goals of many of these proposed changes.”
Siptu sector organiser Robbie Purfield also had a message for the FAI board.
“If the board presses ahead with any major change without consultation with Siptu and its members”, he said, “the damage to grassroots football could be long-lasting and irreversible. This in turn would also have a major impact on the international teams in years to come.”
Hence the board have a significant and difficult decision ahead of them later this month. The 42 understands that the board were initially supposed to vote on the restructure at their scheduled meeting last month, but sought more time to make their decision.
But in the context of last month’s decision around the aligned calendar, one well-placed Abbotstown source says senior staff at the FAI are now doubting the board’s present appetite to make difficult decisions, such as to go forth with the restructure.
That this doubt exists goes to highlight the internal ramifications of the board’s reverse on the aligned calendar. One FAI staff member involved in the pathways plan recently expressed the view that they are owed an apology from the board over their decision to exempt leagues from its adoption.
Changing the registration period for underage and amateur football to bring it into line with the League of Ireland season was one of the key recommendations of the football pathways plan, which was fronted by now-former chief football officer, Marc Canham.
Though it was met by opposition from many grassroots leagues at the time, the FAI board unanimously endorsed the aligned calendar and the pathways plan as a whole, while seeking a mandate by kicking it to a vote among all FAI delegates at its General Assembly. Its adoption was passed by a slim majority – with 57% in favour – after which president Paul Cooke praised delegates for “changing the face of Irish football.”
But now that face is looking pretty familiar, with the board deciding last month to draw up terms of reference under which leagues would be given an exemption if they didn’t fancy falling into line with the aligned calendar.
While there have been many fair and good-faith arguments and concerns set out by leagues against the aligned calendar – or summer soccer – including the risk to playing numbers of going against tradition and the GAA, the facts remain the FAI board unanimously endorsed the move and received the mandate they then sought for its implementation.
But when it came down to implementing it, the board didn’t hold firm. That the Association’s board cannot implement decisions they themselves have endorsed is hardly indicative of a healthy, dynamic organisation, and raised doubts as to whether the executive are truly empowered to get on with their jobs.
Several sources say some board members’ decision to exempt leagues from the aligned calendar was motivated by the desire to retain their seats ahead of the next AGM, at which nine of 14 board positions are up for ratification or re-election. The FAI did not comment when we put this claim to them.
Another reasoning from sources for the exemption was to avoid some grassroots leagues breaking away into their own organisation, as was mooted by some of the aligned calendar’s most trenchant opponents.
The Association are meanwhile understood to be in the final stages of identifying a candidate to succeed Canham. It is a crucial role, but it can’t have filled any of the contenders with confidence to see a key pillar of their predecessor’s plan shelved by the board after enthusiastic public backing.
This context goes to show why the upcoming decision on the restructure has, rightly or wrongly, become a test as to whether the FAI board are currently empowering their senior executives to get on with their work.
The FAI will meanwhile appear in front of the Oireachtas Sport Committee on 24 September to answer questions around their safeguarding procedures, but the biggest political test of all will come on Tuesday, 7 October, which is expected to be budget day.
The Association have commissioned Belgian consultancy company DoublePass to audit all League of Ireland academies as part of their pitch for State funding, and their final report is expected within the next fortnight. This audit is key to unlocking the government’s promise to provide funding for professional LOI academies, which the FAI have committed to including in the 2026 budget.
Missing their own self-imposed deadline would be highly damaging for the FAI: if the aligned calendar exemption staved off a grassroots breakaway, failure to deliver on academy funding will accelerate any proposed League of Ireland breakaway.
These are likely to be a defining few weeks for the FAI.
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