The Jonathan Hill thread

[pineapple stu]

CEO for the last three years now. In that time -

• The national team still has no sponsor
• He's broken his own salary protocols by taking salary in lieu of holidays and exceeding his pre-agreed travel allowance
• €6m-odd of funding suspended because the Board can't agree reforms (this seems to be more down to the age-old problem of the mé féiners in the schoolboy faction in fairness)
• The FAI apparently left €500k of funding unclaimed last year
• Generally minimal exposure - I couldn't tell you one good thing he's implemented for the league, say

And against that, he's put out the call for up to a billion in funding to really challenge the likes of Horsey Ireland and Dogs Ireland - ambitious, but why not start big? And €20m has come off the FAI's debt, which is good.

So - good or bad? I'm not convinced either way really.

[Stuttgart88]

Me neither. I thought it'd be good to have a bit of peace and quiet around the FAI, a spell where thyey just quietly went about their work with no controversy. Well that didn't last long.

As you say, the reforms were blocked by the schoolboy factions. Somebody needs to rip up the FAI's constitution and structure. Too much power lies with too many vested interests. €6mm withheld for whgat reason? DDSL couldn't agree to another woman on the board or something like that!

I did read that the Government says that they recognise the FAI has made significant progress and the funding is ready to be dispersed:

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/202...ive-addressed/

“At the moment there’s a sum of €6.8 million outstanding to the FAI from Sport Ireland for general funding including a special allocation made this year of €500,000 for women in sport funding in response to Ireland qualifying for their first ever World Cup. And we want to get that money to the FAI as soon as possible,” said Mr Byrne.

“I do want to acknowledge that the FAI have signalled their willingness to implement the recommendations set out in the audit,” added Mr Byrne. “To be fair to the FAI, they’ve implemented almost everything in the memorandum of understanding and I do want to say that it’s about 95 per cent and that’s really, really important. We’re just working things through in the department in terms of the FAI’s response, but it is certainly my intention to be able to finalise this matter relatively soon.

“I think it is important to remember that the FAI at the moment is getting double the funding than it would ordinarily get because of the memorandum of understanding and additionally, up to last year, we were also paying essentially the rent or the payment that’s due on the Aviva and that’s not continuing.

“We want to make sure that the FAI can go on their own two feet. It’s quite likely that there will be a continuation of the MoU passed next year if the FAI needed and want it.”


It seems SIPTU want him gone though:

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/202...ff-and-public/

“The aforementioned breach of FAI policy [taking payment in lieu of untaken holidays] could be viewed as gross misconduct under current FAI disciplinary policy,” wrote Teresa Hannick, the Siptu divisional organiser.

“Our members have advised us that they have now lost confidence in the FAI senior management and some members of the FAI board,” continued the letter to Byrne. “They contend that over the past year there has been a failure by senior management to restore trust with FAI staff and between the association and the Irish public.”

[Eirambler]

I'd have had asking for a billion quid in the negative column to be honest. A ridiculous request in truth.

[pineapple stu]

As you say, the reforms were blocked by the schoolboy factions. Somebody needs to rip up the FAI's constitution and structure.

Ironically, I think that's what the EGM was about to an extent. The gender quota stuff is a bit silly, but it was also a requirement to have half the Board be independent ("Under that proposal there would be a 7/7 split between directors who came from the 'football family' and those appointed as independents", from that Irish Times article).

That seems very sensible in light of how the various factions have tugged in their own separate directions throughout the FAI's history. But then you're asking the people with the power to vote themselves out of power, and that's never easy. Yet in a way, that's where the CEO should come into his own in playing the politics to ensure the vote does go through. So the vote to stop the FAI continually falling into factional infighting fell afoul of factional infighting...

[elatedscum]

The fact he’s never moved here, despite planning to and saying he would is a big negative for me.

[jbyrne]

was there any reporting on how the debt was reduced by €20m? Simple debt forgiveness or cashing in on future tv money would be my guess.

[Olé Olé]

The fact he’s never moved here, despite planning to and saying he would is a big negative for me.

It would be a bit irritating in and of itself but in the context of the recent messing over payment and the lack of any progress on so many fronts it is rightly a stick to beat him with.

Kevin Bakhurst has launched full scale plan to overhaul the operations and finances of RTE. I believe he has also moved over from the UK? Whether he delivers the plan or not is another question but I am shocked to hear that Hill has been in this role for 3 years if I'm honest...

[Diggs246]

Hill also lied and stated he couldn't come because of covid. Yet here we are years later and he's working from outside the EU

[Stuttgart88]

I think COVID was a valid excuse at the time but he's had ample time to move since.

[Diggs246]

I think COVID was a valid excuse at the time but he's had ample time to move since.

I think he used covid as an excuse where is he living now!
Why are there 20k in incorrect expenses. That's not a straight shooter

[backstothewall]

He should go.

I don't imagine that there's been any financial impropriety here, but given the circumstances of John Delaney's departure and what has emerged since, any competent person would surely be aware of the pressing need to be seen to be squeaky clean on that regard. Given that context getting tangled up by this sort of thing is just grossly unprofessional.

[CraftyToePoke]

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/202...-fai-politics/

A TD has called for the Football Association of Ireland to be called before the Public Accounts Committee.

He also said the FAI now faced "urgent questions" regarding a memorandum of understanding between the organisation and Department of Sport.

"The FAI requires immediate scrutiny by the Public Accounts Committee," he added.

He said the salary of the CEO was supposed to be capped at the same level as the secretary general of a government department.

He added it had transpired that the CEO was paid more than €280,000 in 2021 and 2022.

"It is worth noting over €60m of Government funding was provided to the FAI in the past five years," he said.

Mr O'Connor also called for the Department of Sport and Sport Ireland to appear before the Public Accounts Committee.

Now that looks like fellas who have had enough of some cut glass English accented dude dictating to them on Zoom calls, making headway, to me.

[elatedscum]

https://www.rte.ie/news/politics/202...-fai-politics/





Now that looks like fellas who have had enough of some cut glass English accented dude dictating to them on Zoom calls, making headway, to me.

Jaysus, the lad became a TD aged 22. I can't even imagine how that happens. Fair play and all, but what decisions do you need to make between the age of 13 and 21 to get there – and what sort of a person would make them...


Now that looks like fellas who have had enough of some cut glass English accented dude dictating to them on Zoom calls, making headway, to me. [/QUOTE]

[Stuttgart88]

Malachy Clerkin: Jonathan Hill has made a critical mistake in reminding the public of the old FAI

https://www.irishtimes.com/sport/soc...f-the-old-fai/

“What did we tell you not to do, Jonathan?”

“You told me not to be in the news for issues with my pay package.”

“And what did you go and do, Jonathan?”

“I got myself into the news for issues with my pay package.”

[texidub]

The schoolboy administrators must have some sense of entitlement to hold the entire orgnization back the way they do? And not even millions in free money can budge them. How selfish is that?

I'm trying to understand what their motivations could be but I don't understand how it all works... government money can't be the motivation obviously, because they are willing to deprive the FAI of gov money. Is it something to do with the way schoolboy transfers over to England are handled? Is that a money source for schoolboy clubs or for agents involved in/around schoolboy clubs? Maybe they have a gravy train going there? There has to be a rational reason beyond archaic holding onto power?

[jbyrne]

gone...

https://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/2024...on-as-fai-ceo/

[JR89]

Surely the new manager search is coming to an end or they gonna use this as an excuse to keep O'Shea as interim till June until a new CEO is found.

[EalingGreen]

I know someone (in GB) who was approached by a Dublin recruitment agency a couple of years ago, inviting her to submit her CV for the then vacant position of Head of HR at the FAI. No guarantees, of course, but the money was good enough to pique her interest. She asked me what I knew about the organisation and although I had not long read "Champagne Football", I tried to give her as objective a view as I could.

Upon hearing which she quickly edged backwards from the room, closing the door silently behind her.

[SkStu]

Surely the new manager search is coming to an end or they gonna use this as an excuse to keep O'Shea as interim till June until a new CEO is found.

An Irish solution to an Irish problem

[pineapple stu]

If we appoint a new manager, could we appoint O'Shea interim CEO for a while then?