The FAI will admit that it broke State finding rules when it appears before an Oireachtas committee tomorrow.
The association’s former CEO John Delaney will be among senior figures from the organisation appearing before the committee tomorrow.
Me Delaney stepped down as chief executive last month before immediately taking up a new position at the association as Executive Vice President.
The move followed intense speculation over a €100,000 loan he gave the organisation out of his own pocket in April 2017.
In a statement yesterday, the FAI admitted that its previous statements on the matter “did not accurately reflect the Board’s level of awareness of the existence of the €100,000 issue in 2017.”
State funding
In his opening statement to the committee tomorrow, FAI President Donal Conway will admit that the association broke State funding rules by not informing Sport Ireland about the loan.
“I refer to Clause 4.3 of the ‘Further Reporting’ section of our annual terms and conditions,” he will say.
“It requires the association to notify Sport Ireland in writing in the event of any material deterioration in its financial position.
“We acknowledge that certain circumstances arose in April 2017 which were not reported to Sport Ireland.”
FAI
He will say that the FAI will now work to “establish a process” with Sport Ireland to ensure the association remains fully compliant in future.
He will apologise to Sport Ireland and the committee – insisting “no disrespect was intended” by its failure to explain the situation before Sport Ireland appeared before the committee last week.
“I know we have much work to do to rebuild trust and confidence in the association and we are committed to achieving this as a Board,” he will say.
CEO appointment
Mr Conway will also say that Mr Delaney was appointed to his new role after the FAI commissioned Jonathan Hall Associates to carry out a review of its senior executive roles.
He will say the FAI board believed the workload of the CEO had “expanded considerably” and was likely to expand further as the association continues preparations for the Euro 2020 championships, the all-Ireland bid to host the 2023 U21 European Championships and the joint UK-Ireland bid for the 2030 World Cup.
“It was the Board’s view that, coupled with the demands of managing a growing organization, it was neither feasible nor best practice for responsibility for addressing all these challenges to be placed on a single individual,” he will say.
He will say that the FAI considered “the unique influencing power and skills” invested in Mr Delaney as a result of his “personal position as a member of the UEFA Executive Committee” when appointing him to the role.
Mr Conway will also pledge that the process for appointing Mr Delaney’s successor as CEO will be established “in line with best governance practices.”
“We will use an outside, independent body to assist in this search,” he will say.
Inquiries
Mr Conway will also confirm that the FAI has appointed global auditing and consulting group Mazars to conduct an “independent and in-depth external review” of all matters that have been raised concerning the way the way the organisation is run.
Meanwhile, he will confirm that Grant Thornton has been on site at the FAI since last week conducting an internal review of the association’s books, records and ledgers.
Sport Ireland
Last week, Sport Ireland appeared before the committee to answer questions on the FAIs use of the grant funding provided to it on behalf of the taxpayer.
It said it was extremely disappointed that the FAI had failed to provide any explanation regarding the circumstances of the loan.
The organisation’s CEO John Treacy said the lack of information had left it unable to judge whether the terms and conditions of its grant approval had been followed.
He also pointedly refused to say if he has confidence in the FAI board.
Sport Ireland approved around €2.9m in grant funding for the FAI in 2017.
