FAI vote reveals deep splits

Continued infighting within Irish football appears inevitable after the FAI narrowly succeeded yesterday in having their first-ever rule on restricting the movement of players passed at an emergency general meeting in Dublin.

The FAI proposed the imposition of an 80km limit on the distance that players, aged 16 and under, can travel from their usual place of residence to sign for a club.

The topic has become a major bone of contention for regional leagues frustrated at losing the best talent to the established nursery clubs in Dublin. After intense debate at the summit staged yesterday in the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Blanchardstown, the motion was carried in a vote by a 65-20 majority.

As a two-thirds majority of voters was required — 57 in numerical terms — the outcome was much tighter than expected, the closest of any FAI rule proposal in recent years.

This was despite a pre-recorded message from the absent FAI chief executive John Delaney being broadcast on a big screen to the floor in advance of the vote.

Delaney, abroad as part of an FAI delegation on Uefa business, urged those in attendance to do the right thing for football by backing the wish of the association.

It wasn’t enough to dissuade the powerful Schoolboy FAI (SFAI) lobby from voting against it. They were supported by the Women’s FAI (WFAI).

The SFAI, representing the 32 schoolboy leagues in the country, had only last Saturday ratified their own rule on the topic at an EGM in Galway, setting the distance at 50km.

This represented an increase of just one kilometre on their previous 49km rule, which U15 Dublin and District Schoolboys League (DDSL) team Kilnamanagh were thrown out of football last season for allegedly breaching.

Delaney reiterated in his speech the need to avoid such a recurrence, though the SFAI insist they addressed this concern last Saturday by reducing the sanction from expulsion to forfeiture of the game and a €1,000 fine on the player’s club and league. Several strands under the football umbrella — the Airtricity League, Junior committee and the FAI Schools amongst them — spoke in favour of the rule, stressing the movement of elite players will facilitate their long-term development.

SFAI chairman Mick O’Brien remained adamant last night the SFAI would implement their 50km rule.

“That’s the distance going into our rule-book and the one we’ll be operating to,” said the Cork native. “Clubs who are members of our 32 leagues are duty-bound to abide by the rule or face sanctions.”

It would seem, therefore, that clubs registering players who reside between 50km and 80km from their pitch will only be exonerated if they appeal any SFAI sanction to the FAI.