A refinancing arrangement with the Football Association of Ireland has been agreed with the government in a bid to save the cash-strapped organisation.
Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport Shane Ross said that the FAI's funding has been restored and doubled to €5.8 million annually, while they will also receive an interest free loan of €2.5 million every year from 2020 to 2022, and said it "is not a bailout by any standard".
Mr Ross and Minister of State Brendan Griffin met representatives from UEFA, the FAI, and the Bank of Ireland at at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport today to agree the deal to save the FAI, who have debts of €62million.
Mr Ross said: “Today we can announce that we will restore Sport Ireland funding for football development programmes of €2.9 million annually, doubling this amount to €5.8 million each year from 2020 to 2023. €800,000 of that funding will support programmes that underpin the development of the men’s and women’s national leagues.
“We will also provide an interest –free loan of €2.5 million each year from 2020-2022.
“This is to safeguard our interest in the Aviva Stadium – where Ireland is hosting four games in the upcoming Euro 2020 Championships.
"This finance will be payable directly to the stadium operations company, and will be repayable from 2024 onwards.”
Welcoming the announcement, FAI Independent Chairperson Roy Barrett said: “This agreement is vital for Irish football and allows us to take the first steps in the rebirth of our sport.
"We can now progress with our plans to restructure and rebuild the Association and do what is best for our staff, our players and all our stakeholders with minimum disruption for Irish football.
“On behalf of the Board and the Association, I would like to thank all our partners for their support and their commitment to the future of our game and we look forward to working with them, our staff and our stakeholders to bring this plan to fruition.”
