FAI broker deal to lift block on DDSL's participation in Kennedy and Gaynor Cups

DEAL BROKERED: Following intervention by the FAI, the Dublin District Schoolboys/girls (DDSL) league will after all participate in next month’s U14 Kennedy Cup and Gaynor Cup tournaments at University Limerick. Pic: Matt Browne/Sportsfile

Following intervention by the FAI, the Dublin District Schoolboys/girls (DDSL) league will after all participate in next month’s U14 Kennedy Cup and Gaynor Cup tournaments at University Limerick.

A long-standing dispute between the DDSL and the tournament organisers, the Schoolboys/girls FAI (SFAI), over unpaid affiliation fees led to a rejection of the DDSL’s application three weeks ago.

That left 20-player squads of both the male and female teams aggrieved at their season of preparation being potentially wasted, their anger shared by parents and club coaches alike.

Both tournaments assemble the best players in the country to represent their league over a four-day blitz, with the DDSL collecting most wins in the 48-year history of the boys Kennedy Cup. Roy Keane captained Cork to victory in 1981.

The FAI have since got involved with the aim of resolving the matter ahead of the tournaments kicking off in back-to-back weeks in mid-June.

It’s understood President Paul Cooke and Vice-President John Finnegan, assisted by grassroots director Ger McDermott, met with the warring factions separately before presenting a proposal that was debated by each side’s executives before finally being agreed on Wednesday night.

The DDSL stopped paying their annual affiliation fees three years ago, complaining of being underrepresented at committee level and having governance concerns ignored.

They did, however, participate in the 2022 Kennedy Cup, their entry fee accepted by the SFAI without the overall affiliation.

Now that this impasse has been resolved, the draw for the tournaments will proceed to produce the groups and fixtures.