The FAI is set to contest a decision by Fifa's Dispute Resolution Committee (DRC) that will put an end to the requirement that English clubs make "solidarity" payments to schoolboy clubs here when Irish players are sold by one club to another within the one jurisdiction.
Under the system, which was developed to reward clubs for the development of talented young players, five per cent of the fee paid for a player is divided between the clubs with whom he played between the ages of 12 and 21 years.
It was a decision by the DRC that originally paved the way to Irish clubs being able to claim and the FAI's careers guidance officer, Eoin Hand, estimates around €500,000 has been paid by English clubs to schoolboy outfits here since a case relating to Robbie Keane's move from Leeds United to Tottenham was adjudicated on in November 2003.
The main beneficiaries of the scheme were Crumlin United, who received €151,000 as their share of the Keane transfer fee, as well as Leicester Celtic, Lourdes Celtic and St Kevin's Boys who were entitled to some €384,000 between them as a result of Damien Duff's £17.7 million move from Blackburn Rovers to Chelsea.
A string of less high-profile moves have also resulted in payments, although many have had to be pursued by Hand with clubs repeatedly seeking to evade their responsibilities under the terms of the scheme.
Irish clubs, however, received a setback last summer when a DRC hearing relating to a Brazilian footballer playing in Italy resulted in a reinterpretation of the rules and a decree that the clubs involved in a transfer had to be located in different jurisdictions before any payment would be required.
An international element had always been a prerequisite for the scheme to be invoked, but it had previously been held that the player coming from another country was sufficient for the transfer to be deemed to have an international element.
"What's happened now is a huge blow for a country like Ireland where players almost invariably go to England and then stay there while moving from club to club," says Hand.
"The culture in other countries is different. Players move away and then move from country to country. Schoolboy clubs in a case like that will continue to benefit but ours will lose out, it seems to be to be entirely contrary to the spirit of what was negotiated a few years back."
English clubs received a circular in January of this year informing them that there was no longer any need to make payments to Irish clubs under the scheme. Home Farm have already encountered problems in relation to a claim for more than €10,000 as a result of Graham Kavanagh's move from Cardiff City to Wigan Athletic, although Hand expects the Dublin club to succeed here because Cardiff are affiliated to the Welsh FA.
Down the line, however, it is likely the FAI will have to fight a test case to have the position of Irish players more fully clarified. Defeat at DRC level would be likely to result in the FAI taking its case to the Court of Arbitration in Sport (CAS). A parallel campaign of lobbying is also likely to be initiated.
The importance of the money was highlighted this week when Donegal club Drumkeen United agreed a payment of €60,000 with Leicester City relating to Ryan McGavigan who is now back in Ireland.
The sum in this case was due as "compensation" under a separate scheme which applies when players first turn professional, but the effects are the same as club secretary Justin Deasley emphasise.
"The money is of huge importance to a club like ours," he said. "We have teams from under-8 right up to senior level and €60,000 would probably pay all of the costs associated with running every team for two years."
