Soccer: Irish soccer to benefit from Govt funding say FAI

The FAI' s General Secretary Brendan Menton predicted that Government funding will help the Association compete with its rivals in rugby and Gaelic games, the IRFU and the GAA.

The Association are to receive the funding in return for abandoning the proposed Eircom Park project and Mr Menton believes this will help them to elevate the sport in the eyes of the nation.

He hopes that the funds will allow the FAI to re-structure the current state of football across Ireland and to help the development of talented young footballers.

The General Secretary claims that soccer has suffered years of discrimination at the hands of the nation's schools and says that schools and teachers ignored soccer for years, in preference for other sports.