Conway: Uefa is FAI’s ‘absolute key relationship’

Against the backdrop of suspended Government funding and intense criticism from Sport Minister Shane Ross, FAI president Donal Conway has made clear the weight the organisation attaches to the views of football’s governing bodies by describing Uefa as “the absolute key relationship” for the association.

Speaking after a sweeping governance reform package had been given the green light at an EGM on Saturday, Conway confirmed that, as an unopposed nominee, he would be standing for re-election as president at next Saturday’s AGM, in defiance of repeated calls from Minister Ross for him to step aside.

Conway stressed again that it would be for one year only, and as part of an interim board, following which, he insisted, he would then step down. But the Minister yesterday reiterated his criticism, describing Conway’s decision to accept the nomination as “mind-boggling”.

In a joint-letter to the FAI last week, Uefa and Fifa expressed their “serious concern” about the Minister’s stance and reminded the association of the threat of sanctions in the event of a national association being seen to be subject to third-party influence.

In his press conference after the EGM, Conway said: “If I stood down, I’m sure I’d get a question: ‘Mr president, are you doing that because you think it’s in the best interests of the association, or are you doing that because a third party has said: ‘Step down or else’? I think that would be a conversation if I stepped down.

“Sport Ireland provide 5% of our revenue. I have always said it’s important, it’s really, really important. But in any one year we might get €10m to €12m from Uefa. When you look at that, adding Fifa money from various programmes — they may kick in in a particular year or not — they are our two key stakeholders. They matter more. Uefa in particular is the absolute key relationship for the FAI.”

Uefa are also centrally involved in helping the embattled association construct a new financial plan which, according to Conway, is now just a matter of weeks away from completion.

Asked if, as is feared, the plan could involve redundancies, he said: “The financial analysis, the financial planning, and the implications of that are all ahead of us. It’s not something that is absolutely signed off on yet. We have to build a sustainable financial model going forward and that’s the exercise that we are engaged in.”

Conway said that attempting to clear the Aviva Stadium debt by 2020 — something which in recent years had been floated as a realistic option by former CEO John Delaney — would be “stupid”.

He said: “We have looked at our financial model, we have analysed our financial performance retrospectively and we’re looking at it prospectively. We’re in the business of designing a financial model that benefits what the association is trying to deliver.

“For example, one aspect of it, [that] we pay the debt on the Aviva Stadium by 2020, would be a stupid part. It’s not a part going forward. That would be one key change, for example. As I say, we are working closely with Uefa on a new financial model. And we’re probably a couple of weeks away from finalising that.”

While noting that the FAI are in receipt of between €10m and €12m annually in Uefa funding, he declined to put a figure on any additional ‘bail-out’ amount — which some estimates have put at up to €15m — that they might now require from European football’s governing body. But he did confirm that the Association FAI would continue to need assistance in the form of advance funding to help them meet their obligations.

“I think the idea of a new financial plan or financial model is to try to work on a current-year basis,” he said. “We have deals with Uefa from 2018 to 2022, including a TV deal that is a particularly big pot of money. There’s a 2022 to ’28 deal etc. There is HatTrick funding (Uefa’s solidarity and development programme).

Ideally, we call them down when they are due to be called down, but what we have done in the past and what we have to do for some time is take advance payments.

Conway described the ongoing Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement’s investigation of the FAI’s finances as being “at a relatively early stage”.

When asked if he thought it could result in criminal proceedings, replied: “It’s obviously a serious investigation. We flagged to the ODCE ourselves that not all of what should have been reflected in our accounts had been reflected in our accounts. How it’s going to end, I’m not sure. I’m not sure how that is going to play out.”

Conway said that the FAI hoped to have its 2018 accounts available for presentation to delegates by the late autumn, after it had been previously flagged that they will not be presented at next Saturday’s AGM.

“The explanation I’ve been giving to members is that because of the demands on the finance department, it isn’t an ordinary year,” he said.

“And it isn’t any ordinary year in terms of getting an audit ready. It’s a much, much more demanding year than any other year.

“They want to see accounts, obviously, they want to see audited accounts, and what we’ve told them is that in late autumn we will have those ready for them.”

Against the backdrop of suspended Government funding and intense criticism from Sport Minister Shane Ross, FAI president Donal Conway has made clear the weight the organisation attaches to the views of football’s governing bodies by describing Uefa as “the absolute key relationship” for the association.