Minister Byrne: More pressing matter to be addressed before FAI funding request is considered

Minister of State for Sport and Physical Education Thomas Byrne TD. Pic: Seb Daly, Sportsfile

Minister for Sport Thomas Byrne has confirmed that a request for further government funding from the FAI cannot be considered until more pressing matters are addressed.

Speaking at the Sports Ireland Institute as Team Ireland continue their preparation for the Paris Olympic Games, Byrne was asked about investment in the coaching network for sports like Athletics Ireland and the FAI.

“I’ve had good conversations with the CEO and President of Athletics Ireland over the weekend,” he said. “It is something we want to do. As I said, we have put funding into sport in general and facilities. I’ve also identified there are gaps we want to address.” 

Byrne pledged that the National Velodrome and Badminton Centre will be built with further details to follow this summer. The facility will be part of the Sport Ireland Campus. As for the FAI, Byrne said they are considering current “innovative” proposals from League of Ireland clubs.

“The FAI is in a different place. They have proposals, not for amateur sport, but the League of Ireland. For academies. With the FAI, Sports Ireland and ourselves are currently examining their requests for the continuation of emergency funding they got in 2020. That is still live at the moment.

“We want to do something on coaching and academies for football. I really do want to do that, but we have to look at this issue first. That is obviously existential to the FAI. They have done a very good job in recent years to make sure they complied with what the government is asking for. They have come looking for an extension of that.” 

The FAI submitted an academy development plan and funding proposal to the government last year.

He continued: “I have met some clubs in the League of Ireland with some really innovative proposals, we are going to examine them as well. I do know, when we talk about gaps, I am particularly thinking of stadiums in the League of Ireland for example that clearly need improvement. 

"The government has a role to play but some other sports were able to get stadiums up and running in previous years. The FAI weren’t. We want to help them with that.” 

A new round of the Large Scale Sports Infrastructure Fund closed on July 1st.

“I know the FAI have applied for quite a number of projects in the Large Scale Infrastructure Fund,” said Byrne.

“Officials will be examining it but the challenge I have with the LSSIF is that it will be a minimum of €120 million. But I suspect the total requests from all the sports organisations and local authorities for large-scale funding is probably at least five times that. We have a challenge in that sphere.”