THE FAI HAVE played their part in persuading Uefa to grant them co-hosting duties at Euro 2028, so now they must convince their base that it’s worthwhile.
Given Ireland’s six games are at the Aviva Stadium, the FAI say their outlay will be modest, while it might rake in up to €25 million for the Association. That windfall depends on Ireland earning an invite to their own party, with qualification not guaranteed. But should Ireland participate at the tournament, FAI CEO Jonathan Hill estimates an income boost in the region of €10 million.
There is a base level of guaranteed income even if the unthinkable happens, and Ireland miss out on another tournament. The FAI will land a hosting bonus in the region of €9 million, and a share of the tournament’s €51 million legacy fund, with the FAI’s cut coming to €6.2 million.
In isolation, it’s a hefty windfall for the FAI, though it quickly shrinks in comparison to their needs. The scars from the dysfunction of the past are still raw to touch: the FAI are carrying €44 million in debt and say they will need €863 million over the next 15 years to build up the country’s ramshackle football infrastructure.
There is no escaping the legacy of the past mismanagement, with chief operating officer David Courell referring to it in the FAI’s celebratory press release.
“As an Association there is a material financial return from a relatively small outlay. We stand to receive hosting fees for the use of the Dublin Arena and we will also benefit from a delivery bonus which will be shared amongst the five host Associations. Both of these payments will result in a multi-million euro boost to the FAI in 2028, a peak year in our debt repayment plan.”
2028: A Peak Year in Our Debt Repayment Plan isn’t quite as catchy as the Debt Free By 2020 slogan the FAI waved about the last time they were granted hosting duties by Uefa, but hey, it at leasts rests on prudence rather than hubris. Covid intervened to prevent those games from happening in Dublin, with Ireland’s failure to qualify removing the last bulwark against the political apathy to hosing pandemic-era games.
Political apathy cannot be allowed to take hold this time around. All of the right noises were made in the aftermath of the announcement in Switzerland, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar declaring himself “over the moon.”
“We’re willing to invest in the Aviva Stadium and Casement Park to ensure our stadia, north and south, are ready to welcome the world”, said Varadkar. “I also want to ensure there are benefits for football clubs all over the country and I look forward to engaging with the FAI on how we can achieve that.”
The FAI, meanwhile, celebrated this bid primarily as a catalyst for more material political support from Leinster House of their long-underfunded game.
“A number of senior people in the Government had said that if we were successful in hosting the Euros, it would be important to ensure facilities at grassroots and wider basis would be commensurate with us hosting a global event”, said Hill. “I think it’s a logical thing to point to. We’ve five years to work hard, plan and approach to build and argue our position in relation to facilities.” Hill is also confident these commitments would survive a change of government.
The above has traditionally been a solid technique of motivation in Ireland: get yerselves together lads, they’re out there looking at us now.
“I’m confident that the facility vision that we’ve put together is a good vision, a sensible one, an ambitious one”, said Hill about the FAI’s infrastructure blueprint. “And by the way it’s not just the government who are going to be part of that, it’s football and the guys here and Fifa and other stakeholders who will be part of the solution but I do think we’ve put together a good plan.
“This is the starting point for us to make our reality. It was an ambitious plan but it was the right one for Irish football. This is a good day for Irish football. In a country that’s very competitive in relation to other sports, who also have their own infrastructural needs, we have to fight our corner and that’s what we will do.”
Hill also said that there are commercial benefits to hosting the Euros, specifically mentioning “in relation to sponsorship discussions which you guys often ask me about.” The FAI haven’t had a shirt sponsor since 2019, before Hill was even appointed CEO.
Hill said “every single penny and cent that the FAI earns is invested back into the game”, but in reality some of it has to service the debt and the crass indulgences of the past.
“We always seek to make as much money as we can do and to control that cost so the money can be reinvested back into football but, as you know, we still have a debt we have to repay”, said Hill. “That’s all costed into our budgets all the way through to 2030. I’d like to get that debt down as quickly as I can do so we can invest everything that we make or the surplus we make back into Irish football. This will help.”
Ireland co-hosting Euro 2028 cannot be an end in itself, but if it’s remembered as the start of something, then this can be considered a genuine and major success. Let’s wait and see.