The FAI has formally announced its Facilities and Infrastructure Vision and Strategy which analyses the facility and infrastructure needs of Irish football.
The document was obtained earlier in the week by the Irish Examiner and commented upon in detail by Sport for Business here.
It outlines a total proposed investment of €863m and almost 2,500 projects across three core areas of Grassroots (€426m), League of Ireland (€390m) and International (€47m).
The sums involved are significant but as we said earlier in the week are only 80 percent of the cost of the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London but with a much wider spread and deeper legacy.
Informed by comprehensive research and a data-led approach, the strategy has been developed to ensure that football, as the number one participation sport in Ireland and which is continuing to experience significant growth, particularly amongst women and girls, is set up for success and can cater for the needs of future generations at all levels from grassroots to elite.
The launch of the FAI’s Facility strategy follows the announcement of the FAI’s four-year strategy for 2022-2025 in which facility development was outlined as the number one objective. Over the past year, the FAI has conducted detailed and extensive research in order to accurately quantify the challenge facing Irish football, with research focusing on an in-depth facilities audit, quantitative research amongst grassroots clubs, and detailed analysis of European benchmarks.
The FAI has outlined a clear, evidence-based approach for investment exploring all avenues of funding across various Government funds, local authorities, UEFA and FIFA private investment and investment from clubs, affiliates and the FAI itself.
The investment case will also be supported by the proposed establishment of an Ireland Football Facility Fund, which will encourage strategic investment into Irish football and ensure an independent, consistent, professional, and dedicated focus on facilities transformation is maintained.
“We are pleased to unveil our facility and infrastructure strategy today which was one of the key commitments in our four-year strategy announced in 2021,” said FAI CEO Jonathan Hill.
“The goal of this strategy is to realise football’s full potential within our grassroots communities, deliver a new future for our League of Ireland, and inspire future generations by creating the environment to support and produce competitive international teams at all levels. We have the opportunity to take decisive action now and create a modern and fit-for-purpose football infrastructure and transform football in this country.”
“As the governing body of football in Ireland, we have a responsibility to enable football to flourish, and in doing so to also support the interests of Irish society and the Irish economy. Our vision is to create the infrastructure and facilities that enable Ireland’s number one sport to thrive and deliver a truly transformational impact for Irish football.”
“Football is the number one participation sport in Ireland, but it has been under-invested in for the last 25 years and we have fallen behind our European counterparts when it comes to facilities investment,” added FAI President Gerry McEnaney.
“This is not the fault of any single entity, but it is a simple fact. Take as an example, women’s and girls’ football which has experienced exponential growth in recent years but will suffer if we do not invest in facilities now.”
“We fully appreciate that all sports have funding requirements and while we have detailed our own investment requirements within this strategy, we are happy to be part of an overall solution.”
“In this regard, our strategy sets out a modern approach to delivering facilities for a new era – Community focused planning, catering for multiple clubs and indeed sports.”
Sport for Business Perspective
This is a very detailed plan running to over 40 pages and is deserving of serious consideration.
The government is driven by evidence-based research and that has been taken to heart.
Comparisons are drawn between the respective amounts given to the GAA and Football over the past 20 years of the Sports Capital investment programme and there is a delta there of €243 million.
But it is mostly a collaborative document where it is not pitched as Football Vs the rest but as an integrated approach to sporting facilities that also chimes with Government thinking in this area.
There is also a valuable comparison with the amounts of money invested by the government of Ireland into football in particular and sport in general that is unflattering.
It states that Ireland has had only 0.4 percent of sporting investment go towards football, less than 25 other EU countries and more only than Bulgaria.
It also speaks of an average investment per head in sport of €65 versus an EU average of €113, a figure which may be questioned by the Government but which does raise an eyebrow.
Visually strong and data-driven, the plan is one we will cover in detail over the coming days, and which will be the subject of a media briefing from Senior FAI Officials later this morning.
If you want an unfiltered look you can download the document here.
