THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Ireland (FAI) have unveiled their latest plans to meet a gender balance quota and salvage millions in State funding next year.
All national sports governing bodies must commit to at least 40% female representation on their board of directors by the end of this year, and any sports body failing to comply will have half of their State funding cut in 2024.
FAI members last month voted down proposed rule changes which would allow the football body to achieve that gender balance, putting €4.3 million of the FAI’s funding at risk for 2024.
The FAI initially proposed adding another two female candidates to the board, one of whom would be elected from their football constituencies, and another of whom would be an external, independent director. This proposal would have maintained an even split of elected and independent directors on the FAI board, as was mandated by the State bailout of the FAI in 2020. The primary opposition to last month’s vote was because of this even split – a counter-proposal from the Leinster Football Association sought to elect both additional female directors from the football constituencies at a separate EGM. It was never held.
The FAI have now returned to their members with another proposal, but it retains the even split of directors as, they explain, the government insist the even split is a condition of any financial support for the body.
This latest plan gets rid of last month’s proposal to add a female Vice President to the board, elected from the entirety of the FAI membership. Instead this will be a designated female director, again elected from the entirety of the membership. Another female director is to be elected from each of the difference sections of the FAI membership, on a rotating basis.
In addition, two of the future independent directors – one male and one female – must have what the FAI define as “relevant football experience.”
This latest plan is provisional: it is subject to a vote at an EGM, a meeting the FAI membership must agree to stage. They have been asked to vote on holding the EGM at 12pm on Saturday, with the AGM commencing immediately afterwards.
An announcement as to whether members have voted to stage the EGM is expected on Thursday.