Gary Owens: No-one is going to take over the FAI

The concerns from some sections of Irish football stem from an agreement that six independent directors would sit on the FAI Board

FAI interim CEO Gary Owens responds to media questions at FAI Headquarters in Abbotstown. Photo by Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Gary Owens, interim CEO of the FAI, has stressed that the governance demands being placed on the body by the Government and Bank of Ireland are not “onerous” and that the final say in football will remain with their own members via the AGM.

The FAI needs to ratify the reforms laid down in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the State and the bank in question in order to continue receiving funds amounting to €52.5m, all of which has stemmed from the disastrous governance of the old regime and the financial fallout.