LAST UPDATE | 14 Dec 2021
THE FAI ARE offering Stephen Kenny and his management team contract extensions to include the qualifying campaign for the 2024 European Championships, The42 understands.
Kenny’s contractual position became the primary talking point in the latter half of Ireland’s ultimately unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign, but a strong finish to the group secured the manager’s position.
Having lost their first three games, Ireland concluded with wins away to Azerbaijan and Luxembourg along with home draws against Serbia, Portugal and the Azeris to ultimately finish third in the group.
The FAI board met on 29 November to review the campaign and discuss Kenny’s position, and ultimately decided to recommend an extension for the manager and his staff of Keith Andrews, Anthony Barry, and Dean Kiely.
Kenny did not comment on his contractual position when asked on stage at the 2021 PFAI awards ceremony last Friday week, aside from referencing an FAI statement which confirmed “positive and detailed discussions” were held by the board about the World Cup campaign.
While it became increasingly clear that the FAI board sanctioned a contract extension, there was doubt as to how long the extension would be: whether it would be lengthened to include all of the 2024 European Championship campaign, or merely extended to include Ireland’s concluding two games in next year’s Nations League. The latter was a proposal mentioned in some quarters of the press, with Liam Brady its most notable proponent.
Kenny’s contract expires in July next year, which – through quirk of a schedule altered to move the 2022 World Cup to winter – includes only four of Ireland’s six games in the Nations League.
It is now understood that CEO Jonathan Hill told members of the FAI’s General Assembly on Monday night that negotiations are underway with Kenny in order to take the Irish team forward to the Euros 2024 campaign.
Hill met virtually with members of the FAI’s representative body, and, while detailing some of his work throughout 2021, mentioned Kenny’s contract situation.
There was a subsequent criticism from the floor of Kenny’s performance as Irish manager, stressing positive results were of greater importance than style of play given the FAI’s financial position.
Hill is understood to have replied by stressing the fact Kenny has blooded several young players, that results improved in the latter half of the group, and then added he is talking to Kenny about “taking him forward in relation to Euro 2024 qualification.”
In the aftermath of a 1-1 draw with Azerbaijan in September, Kenny gave an impassioned press conference in which he said he made the decision to build a team capable of the easier task of qualifying for the 2024 Euros, for which 24 teams qualify. By contrast, just 13 European teams will go to the next World Cup.
“With Serbia and Portugal in the group, and the spine being ripped out of the team, and we haven’t qualified for the World Cup since 2002: did anyone think that we were favourites to qualify or we should qualify?”, said Kenny.
“We certainly have a plan in place. I made the decision – right or wrong – that we would build this squad to be a really, really competitive team to qualify for Germany 2024.”
It appears that he will now get the chance to finish the work he started.
First published on Monday night, 23.50