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A SENIOR MEMBER of the Football Association of Ireland’s board has resigned tonight with immediate effect.
In a letter to the FAI president, John Earley said that he had made the decision ‘in the best interests of Irish football’.
The announcement was tweeted from the main FAI Twitter account at 10.10pm.
The move comes just under a week after FAI president Donal Conway said that he will step down in January.
Both men had served under the leadership of John Delaney and had come under pressure to stand aside from their roles. Sports Minister Shane Ross has said that the “old guard” at the FAI “needs to be removed in total”.
Earley is the chair of the Schoolboys Football Association of Ireland (SFAI). He had previously served as chair of the FAI Underage Committee but resigned from the role, and from the FAI board, in June.
However he was returned to the board the following month at the FAI AGM in July.
The government said today that it will “look at” a proposal to split the FAI into two governing bodies.
Members of the FAI have devised a proposal to split the organisation into two sections – one governing body with fewer responsibilities and another body looking after the grassroots, community and development side, the Irish Independent first reported.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today, Minister for Sport Shane Ross said the government will “look at any suggestion” that comes forward.
“What we are doing at the moment is we are looking after the 2.9 million [euro] which we have been giving to the FAI,” Ross said.
“We have withdrawn that funding and what we’re going to do there is we’re going to ensure that gets to the small clubs, we’re going to absolutely ensure that gets to the players, to the grassroots, but doesn’t go near the FAI.
We want to protect taxpayer’s funding and we also want to protect the grassroots. They’re the important people. We’re interested in football, not so interested in the FAI.
Additional reporting by Orla Dwyer
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Earley?? Too late!!
First of many hopefully
I wonder how much money he walked away with ?
@high ho silver:
Too much
Good riddance, now out with the lot.
The whole things a feckin mess!
Sake da…
Resigned, he should have been fecked out long ago
What a hero
Some timing the FAI have with these announcements
If this is true ???? Why was he there in the first place ??? Did he wear a funny hat …Did he make the other members laugh. Or was he there to do a JOB that he couldn’t or was incapable of doing in the first place but said ” Thanks lads I will stick around for the money” This FAI is a F*&K*&^ great place. Get payed for doing FA
@Alan Dignam: fuk all indeed
Maybe doing a runner (like the Cork TD) before the sh!t hits the fan. No doubt more dirt to come out.
Directors of a company make decisions of a company. Any there longer than three years are responsible for allowing one person control the company and IMO should be held personally responsible for this clusterfuxk and banned from being ditectors of any company for years to come. With responsibility comes accountability.
Ross jumping on the ‘grassroots’ bandwagon that man doesn’t give two sh@ts about the common man less about grassroots football
LOL
So his presence on the board is detrimental to Irish football? Something’s about to come out, and he seems to be clearing the FAI of any responsibility for whatever it may be. Can’t help thinking he must know there’s an open-and-shut case against him.
All this is pure speculation. Which, of course, the FAI’s lack of any transparency inevitably fuels.
Bye bye John. Don’t forget to shut the door on your way out
Ewan McKenna’s article in the independent this morning sums up the whole sorry mess perfectly. Ireland, the country of vested interests.
Too late to go home early
Racism…..
Rats and sinking ship come to mind!!
cue the headlines about “another 5 million ” added to the fai’s debt due to ‘payouts’ and ‘pension rights’ for retiring board members !!
have your say