FAI agrees major reforms at EGM

The Football Association of Ireland today agreed unanimously to fundamental reforms at its EGM in CityWest.

The radical changes were recommended in the FAI’s “Genesis” report published one year ago today.

Today’s vote accepted changes in its rules and articles of association which will change the way football is governed in Ireland.

The reforms will see the FAI’s Board reduce from the 22 members to 10.

New committee structures created on a more democratic and merit based system were also agreed.

The new governance changes equips the Association to bring a new blend of talent into the decision making process and better enable effective decision-making.

Commenting on the significance of the day, the FAI’s Chief Executive Officer Fran Rooney said “I’m delighted that the vast majority of the Genesis recommendations are now in place”.

“We must now press ahead with creating an Association which, put simply, will better serve the grass roots of the game”, he said.

“The positive vote today clearly indicates that the members of the Association want change to take place”.

“It is now imperative that we move ahead with this mandate for change and create a world class organisation to mirror the standards set by our International teams”, he added.

The proposals were presented to the FAI’s AGM in July and were developed by the Association’s Implementation Steering Group (ISG), whose task it was to implement the FAI’s Genesis report.