The FAI announced this morning the most significant organisational changes since restructuring its finances in the wake of the 2019 bailout.

At a town hall meeting held in Abbotstown, staff were informed that a programme of redundancies would commence immediately as part of a broader restructuring of the Association.

The language was framed, as is so often the case in these instances, in terms of transformation.

The FAI, as stated in the public statement issued after the meeting, “needs to be equipped not only to survive its current challenges but to deliver on ambitious long-term plans for participation, pathways, and performance.”

Yet, for those affected, the reality is stark. A voluntary redundancy programme will be launched in the coming days. If uptake does not meet expectations, compulsory measures may follow.

This is not happening in a vacuum. The Association is still managing a debt of around €40 million, despite progress in recent years that has reduced it from a peak of nearly €70 million.

The revised Memorandum of Understanding, agreed with the Government last year, guarantees €6 million per annum through to 2027 alongside additional programme-specific funding, providing a measure of stability.

However, it also comes with expectations — of governance reform, professional delivery, and football reaching into every community. To meet those expectations, the FAI argues, requires both new expertise and a leaner operation.

The optics matter in this situation, perhaps as much as the outcomes.

The FAI’s leadership team, led by CEO David Courell, will appear before the Oireachtas Committee on Arts, Media, Culture and Sport on September 24th, where the justification for the restructuring will now take precedence on the question agenda for the politicians.

It will be tested against concerns from trade unions, volunteers, and the wider football community, who will be having their say in public and in private.

But there is also a longer lens that has to be considered. Irish football has grown in participation and profile, from the visibility of the women’s national team to record attendances in the League of Ireland.

Investment in infrastructure, particularly at youth and grassroots level, is desperately needed.

To free resources for that investment, overheads must be reshaped, and skills modernised.

Yes this is hard for those affected, but it also needs to be considered as the start of a recalibration towards the needs of the next decade.

 

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