FAI’s €40m boost as UEFA agree television deal

UEFA have formally ratified the new agreement on centralising television rights for international qualifying matches for all of its 53 member associations.

As exclusively reported in yesterday’s Irish Examiner, the deal will be worth some €40m over four years to the FAI, an especially welcome boost in light of reports that, initially, UEFA were offering the association only half that amount.

The agreement, which comes into effect after the 2014 World Cup, was confirmed at UEFA’s annual congress in Paris yesterday and will apply to qualifying matches for Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup.

UEFA president Michel Platini told the Congress: “It is a project aimed, above all, at protecting and developing national team football. And, what is more, the knock-on effect will be guaranteed revenue for each association.

“You will therefore all be able to concentrate on the football, without having to worry what the draws might throw up and whether their outcome will be favourable — or not — in terms of TV rights.”

Under the terms of the new deal, the FAI will retain the ability to sell TV rights to friendly matches on an individual basis while association chief executive John Delaney also confirmed yesterday that Irish qualifying games would remain free-to-air.

“It’s as you are,” he told RTÉ. “The Irish audience will be watching our games free to air.”

England are expected to earn up to €115m over four years under the terms of the deal, with the Football Association — which initially opposed the initiative — finally rowing in behind UEFA’s move over the weekend.

English FA general secretary Alex Horne said the deal with UEFA guaranteed television income that was more than what they had expected.

Said Horne: “We thought it through long and hard and we have got a good deal for ourselves out of it. It is higher than the current valuation of our rights. We have gone into this with our eyes wide open. It is a creative idea and we believe it will work.”