And so ends a bleak chapter in the history of Irish football with the announcement of a financial package to rescue the FAI.
With newly-appointed FAI Interim Deputy CEO Niall Quinn standing by his side, Sports Minister Shane Ross detailed the measures that will save the FAI from insolvency.
Sport Ireland's funding to the association has been restored and immediately doubled to €5.8m a year until 2023 while the government has also committed to €2.5m in interest-free loans annually in order to "protect the Aviva Stadium.”
€800k of the Sport Ireland funding has been ring-fenced for the development of the League of Ireland and Women's National League.
After some of the revelations about the FAI in the last year, it may leave some people questioning if the FAI even deserved to be rescued.
Speaking on the Football Show, Irish Independent journalist Daniel McDonnell explained, “I'm not apologising in any way for the madness that unfolded but in terms of pure numbers, the people playing the sport and the contribution that football makes to communities, the return from the state was not great.
“I guess what I’m saying is: thousands upon thousands of people are affected and play this sport and there’s no doubt that there is validity in the state providing more [funding].
“The optics [are bad], I get it. When you’ve had a big payout for people in the association, and that is a big factor in your debts, there is obviously a discomfort around.
“But the broader picture of state funding being doubled for worthy programmes, I honestly don’t think people can argue with that aspect of it too much,” McDonnell said.
In addition to the financial package that will save the FAI and ensure there are no staff redundancies, Minister Ross emphasised that there are further reforms expected from the FAI to meet the terms of the bailout.
“There are other aspects of the bailout that you could look at and question, but I think the principle of more funding for the sport is necessary and capital infrastructure and investment.
“We’ve seen massive handouts to Connacht Rugby and other examples. But again, it’s not to have a pop at them because they’re doing their bit for society too, but so does football,” McDonnell explained.
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