Foot.ie Talks To... Bob Breen. Your Questions Please.
OK folks .... Its that time again, after the success of Foot.ie Talks To... Damien Richardson we have lined up another Q&A session....... We, the patrons of foot.ie are invited to compose questions on anything that ails us about the UEFA Licensing System. If you have a who, a what, a where or a when about anything to do with the system then have been invited to pose such a question and have it answered by Mr. Bob Breen
Bob Breen has volunteered to shine some light where possible on some of the subjects of debate in the past, present and future. If you have a query that keeps you awake at night, then a problem shared could be a problem answered. So get busy with that keyboard, as we’ll have a week to compile our questions and send them off to Bob, who in turn will answer them and we’ll post up the answer in due course.
All normal message board rules apply, no abuse will be tolerated and this thread will be policed and not foul play will be permitted.
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Do you feel that clubs have made significant progress under the Licencing scheme ?
How confident are you that Government aid will be forthcoming to help clubs get their infrastructure up to the required standards ?
Were you disappointed by the number of clubs that did not meet this years licensing requirements by the initial submission date and why do you think this was the case ?
Why were the infrastructural requirements for this years Premier License relaxed/weakened from those applied in the 2004 season ?
Why does the FAI put clubs in a catch 22 situation ? (i.e. threaten to fine/withold grant money from clubs not complying with the regulations, when it's that very money they need to be able to comply)
It was mooted that some clubs held others back from gaining licences 1st time around, for example - People would ask questions if clubs like Galway, Derry and Bray got licences when the bigger clubs like Shamrock Rovers, Shels and Pats were struggling with there applications. Can you shed some light on this please !!
What level of contact did the FAI have with UEFA before implementing the licensing first day, by that i mean did representatives from UEFA come over and step through all the various elements of each section, how did it work ?
Did the FAI have any input to the UEFA licensing system when it was being compiled first day ?
How do you think Ireland is doing, progress wise, compared to similar leagues around Europe ?
Do you think that now the UEFA Licensing system itself (a few years after its first appearance) includes everything that clubs need to operate successfully, or are there certain parts that you’d like to see worked on a bit more ?
What financial assistance does the FAI and/or Sports Council, Government and any other authority provide to clubs to match the new demands of the licensing system and what criteria are used to decide who gets what ?
When are St.Pat's eventually going to be made to install hand washing facilities in their toilets at inchicore? As far as I am aware it's a requirement.
Is the rumour that Sligo failed initially this season because they filled in their application in red biro true? If yes, does it not reflect badly on the licencing process that a club making strides to improve can be knocked back due to petty bureacracy ?
What are the main differences between the requirements for a League and UEFA licence ?
Many clubs complimented you on the help you gave them during the appeals process, and on how closely you monitored the situation. Was the same level of help offered in the build up to the initial submissions, and assuming it was, did clubs refuse the help? I'm just confused why everybody failed initially and why everybody passed subsequently if the neccessary support was in place ?
Many clubs were quickly successful on appeal. Do you think alerting these clubs to the required improvements and offering an extension would have been favourable to the public humiliation of the EL that resulted in the FAI's rush to compliment their own strict licencing process ?
Where is the money that was promised last year when the clubs passed the first year of licencing ?
According to press reports one club had player wages unpaid and another had a transfer fee outstanding at the time of the licensing proces. Are these grounds for failure ?
Given the public appear to view the Licence scheme as a farce, how does you believe that credibility can be restored ?
How can the licence system be taken seriously when financial requirements are ignored? For example longford had not paid tax in 7 years, Shamrock Rovers accounts were not independently audited, most grounds fail to meet many of the basic requirement such as toilet facilities, proviosion of food and drink, provision of solid surfaces to walk on (ie tarmac or concrete) ?
What minimum standards did those grounds (Finn Park and United Park spring to mind) which didn't meet the respective infrastructural requirements but got a license based on concrete plans for development, have to meet?
Would the FAI consider consult with a fans council (representative from each club idea) with regards to what issues we encounter as fans and take our suggestions for Licence requirements on board. This would also help as the representatives could then speak to their clubs fans and explain the latest requirements etc.
how did dub city get a licence
take our gufc rescheduled game for tuesday versus sligo in the connacht derby. changed because dub city then city change game from thursday to friday then to saturday and now to sunday, meaning we didnt need to reschedule our game v sligo after all. liverpool are playing same night and have way more support than chelsea and now gufc will be down about 800-1000 patrons because of this messing that didnt need to happen in the end anyway. €4 to 5k is a lot of revenue to lose in the 1st division because of incompetence how did they get a licence
