Peter Buckley tipped for FAI higher office
Mr. Buckley, financial accountant to the FAI since January 1995, and John Delaney, Hon Treasurer, are the two officers credited with making the arrangements that resulted in the FAI producing a profit for the first time from their participation in the World Cup finals.
The tournament in South Korea and Japan will leave the FAI with a net profit of between €1m-€1.5m. The final figure cannot be identified at this time because of FIFA’s delay in settling accounts.
It is chastening for the FAI to reflect upon their qualification for the European Championship finals in Germany in 1988 as well as the World Cup finals of 1990 in Italy and 1994 in the USA and recall they either sustained a loss or showed a negligible profit.
It could quite legitimately be argued this was confirmation of the need for the FAI to look to an outside agency, Genesis, to examine their operation and identify flaws.
It is to the credit of the organisation that they so quickly embarked upon this exercise after the World Cup and so speedily made public the results of the inquiry. And they are just as determined to implement the findings.
These will involve the appointment of up to four senior executives to control four different areas of the FAI’s operation. And while the officer board will not decide on what process will be followed in this regard until they meet on November 29, they should look to in-house personnel in search of the right people.
The FAI showed a profit from the World Cup this Summer for two principal reasons - they had a properly organised ticketing procedure and they succeeded in negotiating bonus agreements with the players and staff that were good for the FAI as well.
Mr Buckley, who is 37, played a major role in both functions and he sat alongside Mr Delaney throughout their negotiations with the players’ representatives while they reached agreement on bonuses.
Mr Delaney has already said he will not apply for any full-time post the FAI will now attempt to fill. It remains to be seen whether Mr Buckley will want to apply for a more front-line position in the organisation.
The improved ticketing arrangements was one initiative the FAI showed from previous World Cup campaigns and favourable mention of that was made in the Genesis report. It will be remembered that securing tickets for the fans in Italy in 1990 caused the FAI huge problems.
There is no doubt in the minds of those who have had reason to do business with Mr Buckley over the past seven years that he is well qualified and well equipped to fill any one of the new posts on the FAI executive board.
It is virtually certain the FAI will again look to an outside agency to assist them in seeking the executives needed for the important posts.
This decision will be made when the FAI Board of Management and the full Council hold separate meetings in Dundalk. Dundalk was chosen as the venue because the FAI will hold a special ceremony on that day to honour Des Casey, a native of the town, on his retirement after many years of distinguished service to the FAI and FIFA.
Mr. Delaney confirmed the FAI hoped to set the process of making the appointments on this day and in that context he resurrected the issue of TV and the FAI contract with Sky Sports and TV3.
He said: “We know there were many of our fans annoyed when they heard of this but the reality is they cannot have it both ways.
“We cannot implement the recommendations of this report without incurring extra expense and we must find ways of funding them.
“We cannot neglect the grassroots and if we are to look after them in the manner we would like we must be free to enhance our income flow. We have to maximise the possibilities and that will be one of the primary functions of the incoming executives...We must improve things quickly because we do not compare very well with the best of the other countries.”
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