The FAI are urgently seeking talks with representatives of Drogheda United which has become the latest National League club to suffer a financial crisis.
The association which owns the club's ground, is seeking clarification on a number of issues following a meeting of creditors yesterday which agreed to the appointment of Aidan Bell as liquidator to the club's parent company Dufoot Limited.
Creditors at yesterday's meeting were told that the company had run up debts of around £245,000 while it had assets of just £6,505. It was claimed that the current difficulties had arisen partly as a result of a slump in gate receipts to just £14,000 last season.
Of the total outstanding debts, £16,500 is owed to Drogheda Corporation in rates while the other preferential creditor, the Revenue Commissioners, is due just over £14,000.
Non-preferential creditors, including the FAI, two major banks and a number of businesses in the town are owed a total £185,213 with shareholders of Dufoot Ltd due some £30,000. It is believed that some of the debts have been secured against personal guarantees from directors.
Last night the FAI general secretary, Bernard O'Byrne, said that the association, despite being owed £12,000 by the company, had not yet been in touch with anybody at the club although they had tried unsuccessfully to make contact with United Park yesterday.
"We are very anxious to talk to representatives of the club regarding the current situation because we are obviously concerned about what is going on there," said O'Byrne last night "but we are confident about the status of the stadium itself which we own and we have heard that somebody at the club has issued a statement saying the club's footballing commitments will be unaffected by the current difficulties which would be good news if we can get it confirmed."
A spokesman for the club said that a deal is close to being reached with a new consortium of investors and that matters should become clearer next week but it was far from clear yesterday how many of the current board of directors would remain involved.
The current difficulties have already contributed to the loss of last year's manager Anto Whelan who resigned earlier in the summer after leading United to promotion from the first division during his first season in charge.
It is this success, as well as a good run in the FAI Cup - the club made it to the quarter-finals - that makes the extent of the debts all the more remarkable and it augers poorly for Whelan's replacement, Liam Brien, as he waits to be briefed on the consequences of recent events.
"I'm operating under a bit of a cloud at the moment to be honest," said Brien yesterday "I don't know too much about what is going on but I was assured earlier in the week that it wouldn't affect me or the playing side of things and until I hear otherwise I've just got to accept that."
Brien points to a lack of interest in the first division on the part of the media, the game's officialdom and the big clubs as being at the root of United's problems.
