Dempsey ends FAI board bid ahead of crunch Ross meeting

The FAI have avoided another bone of contention with Sports Minister Shane Ross ahead of today’s crunch meeting after Paddy Dempsey withdrew as a board nominee.

Ross was set to question Dempsey’s suitability given he’s Chairman of the Dublin and District Schoolboys League which backed former FAI chief executive John Delaney when be began to come under pressure in March.

The 62-year-old attributed time constraints on his dramatic u-turn. He holds a senior position as product manager of O’Neill’s sportswear and acts as a Uefa delegate for the FAI at Champions League fixtures.

Dempsey had been nominated by the Schoolboys’ Football Association of Ireland on Saturday to fill the vacancy on the board created the resignation of John Earley on Thursday night.

Earley’s exit, along with that of President Donal Conway, were essential moves for Ross to consider reinstating state aid to the cash-strapped FAI.

Dempsey’s emergence as a candidate on the new interim board threatened to heighten tensions between the stakeholders ahead of a vital summit at government buildings this evening.

The showdown had been requested by the association’s new board to discuss their dire financial position.

Revelations in the wake of the controversy triggered by issues surrounding Delaney have left the FAI burdened by debts of up to €70m.

State support will likely be required to prevent the governing body becoming insolvent but Ross has insisted any links to the Delaney regime must first be broken.

Earley’s vice-chairman Padraic Clarke has now been tipped to fill the vacancy. The secretary of the Roscommon youths and schoolboys league had been proposed by Kildare and seconded by Carlow for the post at Saturday’s meeting but withdrew to afford Dempsey a clear run.

Dempsey’s league had lauded Delaney for allowing the DDSL become the first tenant at their headquarters in Abbotstown a decade ago and spoke of his standing within Uefa as of benefit to Ireland.

However the campus was funded by the taxpayer and the DDSL made an upfront payment of €500,000 for a 15-year rental agreement to use their pitches.

The DDSL, mirroring the FAI, is presided over by a board of directors. Dempsey is chairman of the league but not the board. Some members of the board confirmed that they hadn’t approved the statement about Delaney prior to publication.

Dempsey’s statement last night differed greatly from his comments the previous day.

“I was honoured to be nominated by my colleagues within the SFAI but, on reflection, I now appreciate that because of family and work commitments, I would not be able to devote my full commitment to a role which is sure to be demanding,” he told the 31 leagues on the SFAI council.

I recognise that the game and those elected to the FAI board requires a huge demand on their time and energies.

“In the interests of providing clarity, I’m making this decision now so the SFAI can look for a suitable alternative at the earliest opportunity.”

Clarke would first face an election challenge from either Marie Price-Bolger or Padraig Hartnett from the women’s FAI. However, the SFAI’s numerical superiority of eight delegates on the 10-person committee should render any ballot a formality.