FAI bids to clear debt by 2020

Attempting to achieve debt-free status by 2020 is back on the agenda for the Football Association of Ireland following yesterday’s unveiling of their strategic plan.

The association and their chief executive John Delaney had long defended their mounting debts accumulated in the early part of the decade by claiming they would be cleared by the milestone.

An intention to bankroll their €72m portion of the Lansdowne Road redevelopment costs with cashflow nosedived when their grandiose “Vantage Club” ticket scheme flopped.