All sides get ready to play hardball

IN THE fevered build-up to Saturday’s Rule 42 vote, many newspapers chose to illustrate what a yes vote might mean by superimposing an image of Roy Keane over a picture of Croke Park.

It had the feel of a fantasy football vision then and, even now, after the GAA arrived at its historic decision to make the ground available to soccer and rugby, it still looks like a case of what might have been.

For a Cork man who loves his Gaelic games, that would be down to practicalities not principle. The country’s most famous soccer player has already hinted he will hang up his boots at the end of the 2005/2006 season - and since the FAI made clear that it expects to be using Lansdowne Road until at least the end of 2006, it’s therefore unlikely that we will see Keano in action at Croker.

The man himself admitted as much in Cardiff yesterday. More’s the pity, since Keane is only one among many Irish internationals who have happily accommodated the rival codes in their lives and careers. Kevin Moran played at the highest level at Croke Park before swapping All Ireland glory with the Dubs for silverware with Man Utd, while hurler-turned-striker Niall Quinn has long backed the opening of Croker to soccer. The sight of Robbie Keane and Damien Duff enthusiastically playing Gaelic football during a break in training at the 2002 World Cup illustrated the ease with which our homegrown soccer stars regard what they rightly see as a shared heritage.

At administrative level, the issues are rather different, hence an FAI response to the GAA’s decision which might be best described as guarded. But those who expected dancing in the streets around Merrion Square have not been paying close enough attention to what the association has been saying about its plans to provide a permanent home for Irish soccer.

Yes, the FAI has welcomed the decision, but from their point of view the timing is hardly critical, since the planned unavailability of Lansdowne Road is still almost two years away. And between now and then, we can expect some hard bargaining about the terms and conditions under which soccer would gain access to headquarters. That’s the subtext of why the FAI was at pains to draw attention to its own priorities in their official response to the GAA vote.

“As we co-ordinate and plan our games schedule for 2007, we will investigate all venue options available to us. When we commit to specific venues, we will have evaluated all aspects of the decision including footballing, logistical and commercial issues.” Or, to put it another way, the FAI won’t be giving any hostages to fortune until it sees the type of money required by their prospective temporary landlords. Rental for Lansdowne Road currently averages €200,000 a game but according to FAI sources, they won’t countenance anything like the €2 million a year fee floated by former GAA President Peter Quinn, not with an average of seven international games a year to stage at home.

Sources also suggest that some in the FAI are uneasy with the idea that the Rule 42 amendment might have been partly sold to Congress on the basis that the FAI would be prepared to sign a blank cheque.

The absence of floodlights is another major issue which would have to be resolved if Ireland’s home qualifiers for the 2008 European Championships are to remain in Dublin. There is also the matter of how realistic it is to host a friendly game that might attract 35,000 spectators in an arena capable of accommodating more than twice that number.

However, the pressure will mount on them to do a deal. Now the GAA has gained acclamation for “doing the right thing”, it would be seen as a shocking own goal for the FAI to export games abroad when a state-of-the-art stadium is open for use. But all that is for the future.

Ground-breaking the GAA’s decision may have been, but as far as the prospect of soccer in Croke Park is concerned, Congress have merely blown the starting whistle - the hardball game has yet to be begin.