Soccer

FAI ‘very late’ to ask for money for academies from Brexit fund, says Government source

Heavily in debt, the Football Association of Ireland is scrambling for ways to pay for badly needed improvements to the player development system

'The big ask of Government is to recognise that academies are the engine room for our future international teams,' said FAI interim chief executive David Courell. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
'The big ask of Government is to recognise that academies are the engine room for our future international teams,' said FAI interim chief executive David Courell. Photograph: Laszlo Geczo/Inpho
Gavin Cummiskey
Sun Sept 15 2024 - 23:00

Intense FAI lobbying to access the Brexit Adjustment Fund to help build a sustainable club academy system in Ireland is “unrealistic”, a Government source has told The Irish Times.

The association, led by interim chief executive David Courell, used Saturday’s agm in Stillorgan to reveal plans to tap into the €1.14 billion fund that was created to help Irish industries severely disrupted by the United Kingdom exiting the European Union.

However, most of that EU money has been allocated and spent, with the FAI request for figures between €10 and €30 million set to be rejected.

The association is €40 million in debt.

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More Government funding, using the Brexit fund and an increase in the betting levy, would help build a football industry that is urgently needed to improve the chances of the senior men’s Republic of Ireland team qualifying for major tournaments.

It is eight years since the Martin O’Neill-managed side competed at Euro 2016. Since then, Ireland have plummeted down the Fifa rankings to 58th.

“To date, the lion’s share of the [Brexit fund] has been committed,” conceded Courell. “We are of the understanding that there is potentially some underspend that could still yet be allocated. Hence, we are lobbying Government to see what is possible.”

Most industries that benefited from the Brexit fund made their applications between 2016 and 2020. John Delaney was the FAI’s chief executive for most of that period.

“It is typical of the Delaney era that nobody considered this,” said a Government source. “The FAI have come very late to the table, it’s not 100 per cent out of the question but most of that money was spent years ago.”

Courell was asked to explain the latest pitch to Government, on the premise that 24 academies across the country receiving an equal share of funding would make no sense when compared with football structures in Poland and Portugal.

Currently, there are only 10 full-time coaches working in football academies in Ireland. Poland employs 376 staff in 16 academies and Portugal employs 315 across seven academies.

“I can assure you we will look to benefit all academies,” said Courell. “How we then go about allocating the funding, it will be a tiered investment system across a three-tier academy structure.

“That will give Government the reassurance that the investment will go strategically to the academies that are most progressive and can deliver the biggest results, but also it will be underpinned by a rigorous auditing process . . . it’s not for the clubs specifically, it’s for the future of the game.

“The big ask of Government is to recognise that academies are the engine room for our future international teams,” he continued. “This is purely the kick-start because we absolutely recognise that clubs are private enterprises. But we believe that a shot in the arm for the academy infrastructure will see a return in multiples in terms of transfer value that will make it into a self-sustaining industry.”

Tier-one academies would have to provide on-site access to the Leaving Cert curriculum or a partnership with nearby secondary schools, similar to the arrangement between Shamrock Rovers and Ashfield College.

With the Brexit fund seen as an overly ambitious approach, the FAI focus will turn to increasing the betting levy from 2 per cent to 3 per cent, which would generate €50 million, of which Irish football seeks €30 million.

The Department of Sport has sought this increase since 2023, when former FAI chairman Roy Barrett criticised the two per cent levy being funnelled into horse and greyhound racing, mainly in the form of prize money.

On this issue, the Minister of State for Sport, Thomas Byrne, is in active talks with his predecessor Jack Chambers, now the Minster for Finance.

“From the conversations we’ve had, my judgement would be that it is maybe a little too soon,” admitted FAI chairman Tony Keohane. “Nobody disagrees with where the money, at a high level, would be spent and why. It is how do we get it, that is our concern.”

The FAI does expect an extension of the €2.8 million it receives annually from Sport Ireland, bringing their grant total to €5.8 million, as agreed in the 2020 memorandum of understanding (MOU) that was part of a Government bailout for the association.

The MOU, however, could be dependent on the FAI overhauling the current governance of school boys and girls football across the country, with urgent attention needed to address structural problems in Dublin leagues and across the midlands.

Courell was also asked whether FAI staff should expect redundancies in 2025.

“We want to mitigate the risks of having to cut within the association so we’re continuing to push as hard as we can to improve our commercial income and generate additional grant funding or any other solutions that could see investment in the game. We outlined three today.”

Courell stopped just short of confirming the FAI’s Emerging Talent Programme is being shelved for budgetary reasons.

“If I’m entirely honest, I don’t know if ETP has been publicly announced yet.”

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey

Gavin Cummiskey is The Irish Times' Soccer Correspondent