Following a meeting of the FAI board of directors on Tuesday to discuss potential staff redundancies, a town hall gathering will be held in the association’s Abbotstown headquarters.
FAI chief executive David Courell is due to address the concerns of 230 employees on Wednesday morning. It comes after Siptu called for the Minister for Sport, Patrick O’Donovan, to “urgently intervene” to avoid job losses.
“Minister O’Donovan must act now and guarantee that grassroots football and the staff who sustain it are not sacrificed in the name of short-term change,” said Siptu spokesman Robbie Purfield.
“Without a clear commitment to protecting jobs and community development, the very foundations of the game are at risk. Football cannot be rebuilt from the top down, it must be supported from the ground up.”
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The association continues to manage a debt of €40 million, which has been reduced from €70 million in 2019 after a Government bailout.
The FAI employed 250 earlier this year before recent staff departures reduced that figure to around 230.
Alongside potential redundancies across all sectors of the game, there are ongoing concerns among FAI staff over unfilled positions.
In July, FAI vice-president John Finnegan stepped down citing personal and family reasons while Derry Coughlan, the legal and governance director, resigned after four years with the association.
Dan McCormack, the finance director since June 2023, is leaving to become Leinster Rugby’s chief financial officer in November.
The chief football officer post has been vacant since Marc Canham returned home to England this summer. Canham’s number two, Shane Robinson, was named as interim technical director and the former Shamrock Rovers academy lead is believed to have applied for the position on a permanent basis.
John Morling – who was the initial favourite to lead Irish football until Canham’s appointment in 2022 – and former Shamrock Rovers CEO John Martin are also believed to be under consideration.
Morling previously worked with the FAI during Brian Kerr’s time in charge of Ireland’s international youth teams. Following 10 years running the Brighton and Hove Albion academy, he was appointed alongside Canham as a consultant until March 2023. Morling is currently technical director for the Hong Kong football association.
The FAI also intend to hire a new head of women’s and girls’ football as Hannah Dingley left in May after 12 months in the role to become head of the Manchester City girls’ academy.
“We have no money,” said Dingley in March when asked about the budget for her newly launched action plan for women’s football.
Courell previously confirmed that funding constraints led to the end of weekly sessions for home-based female players that had provided a vital link between the amateur and professional game.
Heimir Hallgrímsson, the Republic of Ireland men’s manager, was asked at the squad announcement ahead of next month’s World Cup qualifiers about a growing concern among FAI staff and how a return to major tournament football is so important in financial terms.
“Whatever the situation is there, I’m really happy that the board do not include me in all of those thoughts,” said Hallgrímsson. “They just allow me to focus on the team and the campaign, but it’s always going to mean a lot if we qualify for the World Cup.
“The financial thing is leading up to 2028, until the Euros are hosted here, so the financial plan is really well structured to pay down the debt until 2028.
“If we qualify [for the 2026 World Cup] it’s going to change everything, so we can do more for the youth teams, for the League of Ireland, to free up money to invest in infrastructure. It’s going to change a lot financially. And mentally, it’s going to bring joy to everyone, not only the FAI.”
