Ger McDermott to leave FAI after summer soccer climbdown

McDermott joined the FAI in 2007, progressing through a number of roles in ticketing and grassroots before moving into senior leadership.

FAI grassroots director Ger McDermott. Photo by David Fitzgerald/Sportsfile

Ger McDermott is to depart his role as grassroots director of the FAI, just months after the association rowed back on a summer soccer edict he was central to promoting.

McDermott managed Raheny United to their first Women’s FAI Cup in 2012 and worked as St Patrick’s Athletic’s strength and conditioning coach but his primary role has been with the parent body.

That began with a student placement in 2007, progressing through a number of roles in ticketing and grassroots before moving into senior leadership.

Over 40 staff are currently exiting as part of a voluntary redundancy package and he will join their exodus on December 31.

The FAI paid tribute to his contribution, noting his central role in ‘modernising and strengthening the foundations of the domestic game’.

They continued: “He has also represented Irish football as a UEFA Grassroots Panel Member, supporting the development of Grassroots strategies across Europe.

“It’s important to recognise the several major initiatives that Ger led, including the introduction of Club Mark, now the cornerstone of our Grassroots development approach, and League Mark through the Football Pathways Plan.

“He oversaw sustained participation growth across all core programmes—club development, women and girls, Football for All, and schools, and transformed our Football Camps.” 

However, McDermott’s legacy will be tainted by two failed attempts at synchronising the entire grassroots game into line with the League of Ireland men’s and women’s season formats.

Resistance was rife, from the time he toured the country with then chief executive John Delaney espousing the benefits of the move.

It was resurrected under another shiny strategy document, the Player Pathways Plan unveiled by Marc Canham in early 2024.

At one point, the FAI threatened to deny leagues participating at the annual Kennedy Cup and Gaynor Cup tournaments their grants unless they agreed to the ‘calendar’ format.

Eventually, the FAI admitted defeat, introducing an exemption process that has been widely ridiculed. The vast majority of leagues, underage and adult, have carried on with the traditional September to May schedule, wrapped around the academic year.