Football Association of Ireland

Chapter 6: "The game 1914-24: decline and division"

Both bodies initially claimed to represent the entire island. The split between Southern Ireland (which in 1922 became the Irish Free State) and Northern Ireland did not produce a split in the governing bodies of other sports, such as the Irish Rugby Football Union. The Falls League, based in the Falls Road of nationalist West Belfast, affiliated to the FAI, and from there Alton United won the FAI Cup in 1923. However, when the FAI applied to join FIFA in 1923, it was admitted as the FAIFS (Football Association of the Irish Free State) based on a 26-county jurisdiction. (This jurisdiction remained until Derry City FC, from Northern Ireland, were given an exemption, by agreement of FIFA and the IFA, to join the League of Ireland in 1985.) Attempts at reconciliation followed: at a 1923 meeting, the IFA rejected an FAIFS proposal for it to be an autonomous subsiary of the FAIFS. A 1924 meeting in Liverpool, brokered by the English FA, almost reached agreement on a federated solution, but the IFA insisted on providing the chariman of the International team selection committee. A 1932 meeting agreed on sharing this role, but foundered when the FAIFS demanded one of the IFA's two places on the International Football Association Board pp. 23-5.

The IFA did not feel obliged to refrain from selecting Free State players for its international team. The name Football Association of Ireland was readopted by the FAIFS in 1936, in anticipation of the change of the state's name in the pending Constitution of Ireland, and the FAI began to select players from Northern Ireland based on the Constitution's claim to sovereignty thereRyan, op. cit. pg 33. A number of players played for both the FAI "Ireland" (against FIFA members from mainland Europe) and the IFA "Ireland" (in the British Home Championship, whose members had withdrawn from FIFA in 1920)Players Appearing for Two or More Countries. Shortly after the IFA rejoined FIFA in 1946, the FAI stopped selecting Northern playersRyan, op. cit. pg 50. The IFA stopped selecting southern players after the FAI complained to FIFA in 1950Ryan, op. cit. pg 61.

Recent history

For many years, soccer was largely confined to Dublin and a few provincial towns. In some towns the game had been started by British Army teams, leading to the derisory nickname the "garrison game". The increasing success of the international side from the late 1980s gave increased television exposure, more fans, and more funds to the FAI. However, the media exposure also highlighted some inadequacies of its hitherto largely amateur organisation.

The "Merriongate" controversy broke in 1996 when the media reported that in the 1990 and 1994 World Cups, the FAI had sought to acquire extra tickets for Ireland's matches by exchanging tickets it had been allocated for othre games; sometimes with the relevant FAs, but sometimes with scalpers. The FAI was left with many unsold tickets and heavy losses from these transactions: Chapter 1: "Merriongate". ("Merriongate" refers to the FAI headquarters in Merrion Square, Dublin).

In January 1999, the FAI announced a planned national soccer stadium, to be called Eircom Park after primary sponsors Eircom. This was to be a 45,000 seat stadium in City West, modelled on the Gelredome in Arnhem. It gradually became apparent that the initial forecasts of cost and revenue had been very optimistic. FAI and public support for project was also undermined by the announcement of the National Stadium in Abbotstown, which would have 80,000 seats and be available free to the FAI, being funded by the state. The Eircom Park project was finally abandoned in March 2001, amid much rancour within the FAIMenton, op.cit. Chapter 2: "Eircom Park and the National Stadium".

The FAI made a joint bid with the Scottish FA to host the 2008 European Football Championship. This bid failed. There was some comment in Ireland that the bid involved wishful thinking by the FAI, in that the stadiums proposed for use were Eircom Park (which was cancelled), the National Stadium (which has been indefinitely postponed), Lansdowne Road (which will be demolished in 2007 and rebuilt by 2009) and Croke Park (which at the time of the bid was not open for playing soccer).

The FAI was criticised by Roy Keane after he quit the Irish team while preparing in Saipan for the 2002 World Cup. He felt the training facilities were inadequate, the players were being encouraged to take a laid-back approach, and the convenience of the FAI officers was being put before the needs of the players. Others felt Keane's decision to leave was due to lack of enthusiasm and his antipathy towards manager Mick McCarthy; public opinion in Ireland was divided. The FAI commissionned a report from consultants Genesis into its World Cup preparations. The "Genesis Report" agreed with many of Keane's criticisms and found the FAI structure was not conducive to good planning. It made a range of recommendations. The complete report was never published for legal reasonsMenton, op.cit. pp 349-50. Brendan Menton resigned as FAI General Secretary at this time, and the media linked the two events"FAI chief Menton resigns" BBC Sport, 12 November, 2002, though Menton denied thisMenton, op.cit. pp 349-50.

In 2002, the FAI announced a deal with British Sky Broadcasting to have Ireland's international matches, as well as domestic soccer, televised on its satellite subscription service. The general public felt it should be on RTÉ, the free-to-air terrestrial service, in spite of their offering much lower rates. Faced with the prospect of the government legislating to prevent any deal, the FAI agreed to accept an improved, but still lower, offer from RTÉMenton, op.cit. Chapter 6: "The Sky TV Deal".

Organisation

The FAI has an Executive Committee of five unpaid members under the President, as well as a paid administrative staff led by the General Secretary. There is also a General Council of delegates who vote at the AGM. The League of Ireland has an important place in the FAI council. Also represented are a variety of affiliated organisationsFAI affiliates:
* Provincial FAs for Leinster, Munster, Connacht and Ulster (the last only for the 3 Ulster counties not in Northern Ireland).
* Separate education associations for primary schools, secondary schools, universities, and other third-level institutes
* Junior (i.e. non-League) league football
* Women's FAI
* Referees
* Defence ForcesThe structure has been criticized as unneccessarily complicated, promoting turf wars and duplication of effort between different groups and affiliatesMenton, op.cit. pp. 343-4. The FAI plans to merge with the League of Ireland, in line with the recommendations of the "Genesis II" report of 2005FAI / eircomLeague Implementation Committee Proposals on the strategic direction of the National League 2007-2012 (PDF: 217K).

Activity

The League of Ireland actually predated the FAI by three months. The FAI Cup was immediately established along the lines of the FA Cup and Scottish Cup competitions. A second cup competition was formed in 1974 called the FAI League Cup. The FAI Junior Cup is for non-League of Ireland teams. The Setanta Cup was inaugurated in 2005 as cross-border competition between FAI clubs from the League of Ireland and IFA clubs from the Irish League.

The FAI also organises schools competitions, and international teams, including the senior team, underage teams, and the Olympic team.

References

External links

*FAI Website
*History (FAI Website)