Shane Ross seeking clear out of FAI old guard

A frank FAI board meeting on Tuesday is expected after sports minister Shane Ross confirmed he wants a clearout of veteran council members by July.

That condition of the State’s €25m bailout announced on Thursday will see at least two FAI directors — including newly-elected president Gerry McAnaney — forced to step down.

Although the Governance Review Group (GRG) from last summer introduced a 10-term limit for council service, the transition was to be eased by a three-year grace period.

Ross, however, upped the ante in his bid to rid the FAI of the old guard by insisting that the clause by be removed.

It means that not only will Cork local McAnaney have a short-lived presidency, it will also see fellow board member Dick Shakespeare accompanying him through the exit door, but so — as will at least 20 other council members.

Within the list of casualties are FAI junior council secretary Dennis Cruise, former board members Mick Hanley and Jim McConnell, along with several League of Ireland delegates.

Women’s FAI chairperson Frances Smith, who also chaired the audit committee of the FAI, is another stalwart in the firing line.

Up until till the GRG report, there were only 58 members of council.

This new rule, which requires a two-thirds majority at an emergency general meeting to be passed, could see almost half of those wiped out in one fell swoop.

The eight directors sourced from the football constituencies must be current members of the council.

Another demand in the quid-pro-quo deal is that cohort being reducing by two to facilitate an equal split with independents among the 12-person board.

A statement from Ross’s department in response to a query read: “The board of the FAI has given a commitment to implement this condition as part of the new funding agreement, including any required changes to the rulebook, to ensure that by July 2020 the FAI Council will not include any member with greater than 10 years’ service.”

The extreme nature of the reforms has sent tremors through Irish football, not least among some of the board members themselves.

They were unaware of the full set conditions within the Memorandum of Understanding — which also involved support from Uefa and Bank of Ireland — until Thursday morning.

Independent chairman Roy Barrett brought along his two fellow independent newcomers, Catherine Guy and Liz Doyle, to the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport.

Chief executive Gary Owens and his deputy Niall Quinn, both also drafted in last week, were also in part of the delegation.

Speaking afterwards, Barrett and Quinn were emphatic about the non-negotiable nature of the pact.

The deal, totalling around €35m, will not alone allow the FAI to survive, but thrive, according to Quinn.

Tuesday’s board meeting of the 11 directors — the appointment of the last of four independent directors is still a few weeks away — will digest the deal and map out the process for adopting the new rules.

Given Ross is in his final week of the ministry, pending the outcome of Saturday’s election, it remains to be seen whether the details of the package are reviewed by his successor.

Since the bombshell was announced on Thursday, the reaction within the amateur and schoolboy ranks has been one of bemusement.

While staff have been protected under the deal, the opposite has applied to voluntary legislators representing their club, league, or region at national level.