The Government has announced that it will restore funding and provide interest-free loans to the FAI for the next three years in a bid to secure the survival of the association.
It follows meetings in recent weeks between the government, UEFA, the FAI and their main creditors Bank of Ireland and ends what Sports Minister Shane Ross has described as a "difficult journey" and he insists more reforms will follow.
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 ringfenced for the development of the League of Ireland and Women's National League.
Irish football's governing body has debts of around €62m and they required €18m to stave off the threat of insolvency.
“Today we are marking a new dawn for Irish football," said Sports Minister Ross.
This morning the Cabinet held an urgent incorporeal meeting to approve an agreement between the Government and the Football Association of Ireland. It has been a difficult journey to get to this place, where we can finally heave a sigh of relief knowing that Irish football has a secure future. Today we are delivering for all those who depend on football for their livelihood, as well as those who play, coach, volunteer, support or just love to support the game. That’s a lot of people.
"From suspending funding to ordering a forensic audit by KOSI, to insisting on a clear out of the board while resisting the appointment of die-hard old guard acolytes. Each and every effort to rebuild and rejuvenate the upper levels of the FAI was met with hard core resistance from the status quo. It took a long time to eradicate the old guard from the upper echelons of the FAI – far too long – and it was a very hard won battle.
"However, it is with confidence I can stand here today with a vibrant, independent team who are focussed on delivering for Irish football. The appointments of independent chair Roy Barrett, together with independent directors Liz Joyce and Catherine Guy, and latterly Interim CEO Gary Owens and deputy interim CEO Niall Quinn, was a necessary step forward in the regeneration of the association.
"We can now look forward to a rigorous rebuilding of the FAI from a toxic, autocratic, unfit-for-purpose organisation to a fresh, cleansed association that can honourably represent and support Irish football, at home and also on the world stage.
"Of course there are many reforms still to come. Crucially, the financial assistance we announce today is absolutely conditional on these reforms being implemented. This is not a bail out by any standard. Today we can announce that we will restore Sport Ireland funding for football development programmes of €2.9 million annually, doubling this amount to €5.8 million each year from 2020 to 2023. €800,000 of that funding will support programmes that underpin the development of the men’s and women’s national leagues. We will also provide an interest –free loan of €2.5 million each year from 2020-2022. This is to safeguard our interest in the Aviva Stadium – where Ireland is hosting four games in the upcoming Euro 2020 Championships. This finance will be payable directly to the stadium operations company, and will be repayable from 2024 onwards."
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