QuoteNon story in effect.
From today's Sunday Tribune
Mark Hilliard
Sporting Fingal players celebrate in the dressing room with the trophy after winning the Ford FAI Cup final last month
FINGAL County Council is to be asked to debate its relationship with the football club Sporting Fingal following a heated exchange over funding.
Concerns have grown over the council's role in supporting the club, of which it owns a 26% share, although council officials have strongly denied that it is funding the club.
County manager David O'Connor said he "took grave exception" to suggestions he had given misleading information in relation to questions about the council's financial involvement with Sporting Fingal.
A motion has now been tabled for January's council meeting, requesting further discussion on the subject.
The majority stakeholder in Sporting Fingal is Gerry Gannon, whose Gannon Homes and K Club companies have not escaped the financial impact of the recession.
It is also sponsored by Anglo Irish Bank which, although nationalised, refused to comment on what financial relationship it has with the club when contacted by the Sunday Tribune.
During a meeting of Fingal County Council this month, councillors heard of a public perception that the local authority played a role in funding the football team's operations.
Despite efforts to contact the club, no one was available for comment.
Sporting Fingal has enjoyed considerable success since its foundation two years ago – in particular by capturing the Ford FAI Cup this season.
Fingal County Council, which helped establish the club with the assistance of private backing, said it had put no money into running it and never would, and said it was simply involved for the benefit of the community.
However, Cllr Clare Daly, who said there were many other sporting organisations in Fingal who believed they had not received the same level of attention, asked a number of questions relating to finances.
"I think people have some very genuine questions. If the council isn't giving the money and if the council has not given any staff resources, well what are we giving for our 26% of the shareholding?" she said at the last council meeting.
"Clearly when [a soccer club is] starting off and experimenting and developing a base, [it cannot be] funded by its fan base or by ticket receipts.
"When names like Gerry Gannon and Anglo Irish Bank [invest in the club] a lot of other sports organisations are being asked what's being invested in them.
"I have to say I don't really accept the answers to the questions, that we don't put in any money and we don't put in any staff. That is not what I have seen. I think we have put huge resources into this, and we should say that because we have."
The county manager replied that no money was put into the club except for €7,000 to fund transport for local clubs and poster printing. He said that any staff working at the club did so as volunteers.
A debate on theissue has been tabled for January's meeting.
December 27, 2009
Non story in effect.
How on earth is it a non-story that the only club in the LOI increasing their spending in 2010 is by-proxy funded by the taxpayer?Originally Posted by SligoBrewer
The Leinster Senior League needs a strong Bohemians
They are on the same budget as last year and its not from council funds.
Clare daly hasnt a clue and should be more concerned about more pressing issues in her constituancy.
Old news which has been posted over and over again and will get the same old response from the same old posters.
Council minutes make interesting reading.
http://search.fingalcoco.ie/search?q...ult_collection
So what happens after the five years worth of agreed funding are up I wonder?
#NeverStopNotGivingUp
As i said, same old posts. Thats already been posted on the boards.
We will work off the prize money for winning the europa cup
I think thats her point. If the council werent spending all their time on the club and finding volunteers etc they could do that.
>Anglo Irish Bank which, although nationalised, refused to comment on what financial relationship it has with the club when contacted by the Sunday Tribune.
>Despite efforts to contact the club, no one was available for comment.
All very murky if you ask me.
Following the recent PrimeTime revelations, any councillor in the country will surely be nervous about there council being linked to Anglo in any way!
bhs
So nationalisied Anglo Irish Bank which is being propped up by the tax payer is propping up Franchise, thats a serious story, how it can be deemed a "non story" is ridiculous.
Question for fans of other clubs, how many of you would like some government funding for your club?
They always cheat, they always lie
**** Delaney and the FAI
seemed a bit of a non story to me. No actual figures of money "pumped" into SF if any.
I'm what? I'm ants at a picnic?
If only it was that innocent...
Anglo Irish Banks 'involvement' with Sporting Fingal was never a conventional sponsorship from day one. Sporting Fingal's backer Gerry Gannon has been one of Anglo's high profile partners during the property bubble insanity (see Meet the Bankers last week on RTE) and Gannon has had lets say an 'interesting' relationship with Fingal County Council over a number of years with has resulted in many questionable developments granted planning by the council. The perception by many people living here in Fingal is that Gannon and Anglo's involvement with Sporting Fingal was a soft way to help Gannon get re-zoning for land and development from the Council. Gannon pulled off a similar, albeit a smaller scale 'investment' with Malahide United and made a killing out of the resulting development. Regarding direct funding from Fingal County Council, the council should show Sporting Fingal's figures at the forthcoming meeting in January if they have nothing to hide but what worries me more is if Gannon cannot fund Sporting Fingal anymore the Council as significant stakeholders in the club will be on the hook for paying players wages.
On the grand scale of things the initial premise and motivations behind Gannon and Anglo's involvement with Sporting Fingal in 2008 is relatively minor at this particular moment in time. Anglo Irish Bank is now nationalised and Gannon is strongly rumoured to be broke. The major question is, are Anglo Irish Bank (i.e. the taxpayer, you and I) funding or loaning Gerry Gannon the money to run Sporting Fingal? This is being speculated and this is the question that Fingal County Council must answer and they must show where Gannon is getting the money from because there is no way the taxpayer should be on the hook for anything going tits up with any LOI club.
The Leinster Senior League needs a strong Bohemians
Oh yeah, because Clare Daly is a real head in the sand type politician. If taxpayers money is being invested in Sporting Fingal then this is a pressing issue, I don't want my tax going towards your club. And don't act all wise, you've no more idea of whats gone on behind the scenes than I do.
Lets redefine what it means to heal
Aren't councils funded by rates, not taxes?
Also, whatever the ins and outs of the story, it's just impractical to say what you do and don't want your tax (or rate) money spent on. I don't want it spend on pointless tribunals, but I've no real choice. Even as BYCTWD pointed out, all clubs benefit from government grants, even though I mightn't want a rival club to get a new stand, for example. That's just life.
Edit - or are you taking the Anglo sponsorship as tax-payers' money?
Last edited by pineapple stu; 28/12/2009 at 7:23 PM.
Well bin tax...
You dont pay tax
"you've no more idea of whats gone on behind the scenes than I do"
You dont know me or my involvent enough to make that comment.
I wouldnt be too concerned about what clare daly brings up at a council meetings.
They are not though.
I wouldn't describe being tenants, as is the case with City, as having a "partnership".
Time will tell. But I suspect there's more to come out on all of this.
Nothing to see here, move along.
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