FAI finances

[Stuttgart88]

Some discussion of FAI finances and the AGM here

http://www.rte.ie/news/2013/0720/463...ource=NewsWhip

Meanwhile, all is not rosy in the IRFU garden either

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/rugb...kets-1.1469464

[bennocelt]

Rent
after paying €1.15 bn to 'not look bad' and the transport infrastructure to be easy to get to, not to mention the umpteen pitch changes to facilitate the transition from the worst pitch in the western world to something not bad, you ask how much rent do they pay?
The estate agents must see you coming a mile off.

Maybe so but then I would have a bloody big house (one of the biggest in the land), that I owned, would get a nice bit in return every year in rent, and if things get a bit itchy there are always those national lottery grants to help
Last I heard the debt to Wembley was roughly 350 million, which for a big organisation like the FA is manageable - but i havent got the latest figures - sorry

[osarusan]

The FAI cancelled its traditional post AGM press conference in Arklow today with John Delaney telling delegates from clubs and affiliates that it was not in the association’s “best interests” for questions to be answered regarding its finances.
Various attempts to get Delaney or other senior members of the association to speak with the press after the AGM had concluded were then rebuffed.

From Irish Times.

http://www.irishtimes.com/sport/socc...-agm-1.1470487

How can he just get away with saying something like this? Won't the other members of the FAI keep him in check?

Pat Kelly of the SFAI, who was awarded honorary life membership of the association, hailed the transformation of the organisation that has taken place over the course of the time involved.
Twenty years ago the FAI was “personality driven,” but “all of that has changed”, said the Waterfordman, before referring to the organisation’s “outstanding CEO”. Earlier, Delaney had, as is also traditional, featured around 60 times in a short video, set to music, covering the activities of the Festival of Football that leads up to the AGM.

Maybe not.


Link to a pdf of the CEO address here. The part at the bottom of page 3 and into 4 is interesting.

http://www.fai.ie/images/CEO_AGM_speech_2013_.pdf

I stood here last year and said that 2012 and 2013 are tough years. I also said that our business plans show a breakeven result in both years.

We have delivered in 2011.

We have delivered that in 2012.

We are on target to deliver it again in 2013.

If we were behind our targets, I might understand some of the comments, but we are not.

We are operating entirely in line with our plans.

Our cost base has been reduced so although the revenues which we forecast accurately during 2012 and 2013 are lower, when they increase from 2014 onwards, the margin between our lower cost base and higher revenues, means the Association will be well placed to generate the profits we are forecasting

From 2014 , we will benefit two-fold, firstly from the continuation of our reduced cost base and secondly from increased revenues that will allow us to repay our debt. Most importantly, our revenues from 2014 onwards are based on security that few other businesses enjoy.

From 2014 to 2020, the FAI will receive an estimated €60-70m in UEFA TV rights money as a result of a centralised television rights agreement in addition to income from the resale of premium seats, renegotiation of naming rights which generated over €40m from the initial sale, and UEFA hattrick f unding on a four year cycle

We are dealing in certainties here.

[SolitudeRed]

Also see that it was confirmed at this AGM that a bid would be made to host matches for the 2020 Euros which will be held in various different cities across Europe instead of just one country, Delaney also stated that the FAI is well on its' way to being debt free by then. I am not sure how realistic that is? are they not making interest only payments on the Lansdowne loan? will this new UEFA TV money arrangement going to be enough to clear that in such a short period of time http://www.rte.ie/sport/soccer/irish...i-agm-wicklow/

[Stuttgart88]

I suppose if you default on your debts and post back the keys you're debt free!

The stuff in that latest Irish Times article is like Stalin era Soviet Union. Don't talk about the problem, don't ask any questions and don't let the bloke in who'd ask awkward questions. Instead publish a piece of propoganda and comment on how wonderful the leader is.

First question from the floor in 3 years and it was a technical question rather than anything of substance. Who are these people running our game?

Edit: having just read the comment on the PDF file linked by osarusan, maybe JD has a point! It's hard to imagine no proper communication between government and the FAI. Unless we're some kind of gombeen republic, which clearly we're not.

[Charlie Darwin]

The RTE article has been posted a lot around, but Emmett Malone in the Irish Times is far more revealing:

As has become the norm, delegates failed to raise a single issue in relation to the finances from the floor. Carl Bond became the first person in three years to ask a question of any sort when he attempted to have a motion in relation to schoolboy football, that had already been withdrawn, ruled out of order.

Pat Kelly of the SFAI, who was awarded honorary life membership of the association, hailed the transformation of the organisation that has taken place over the course of the time involved.

Twenty years ago the FAI was “personality driven,” but “all of that has changed”, said the Waterfordman, before referring to the organisation’s “outstanding CEO”.

Earlier, Delaney had, as is also traditional, featured around 60 times in a short video, set to music, covering the activities of the Festival of Football that leads up to the AGM.

Suffice to say, Emmett won't be invited back next year, and expect to see significantly less access to Trap and the boys for the IT in the near future.

[ArdeeBhoy]

Hmm, it all seems very messy. Even from the IRFU perspective.

Not sure this says anything we don't already know, but here's the Ybig thread...
http://www.ybig.ie/forum/rt-prime-ti...opic43877.html

[Alf Honn]

Hmm, it all seems very messy. Even from the IRFU perspective.

Not sure this says anything we don't already know, but here's the Ybig thread...
http://www.ybig.ie/forum/rt-prime-ti...opic43877.html

Read an article today (think in D Mail) which stated FaI will pay over €20million interest by the time they even start paying the debt in 2005. That's IF they pay the debt.

Really and truly, how much is this stadium gonna cost by 2020?

Twenty million yoyos....20,000,000....down the tubes because some ticket scheme by a genius like Delaney hit the skids.

If it wasn't so serious in its damaging to football in this country, it would be laughable.

TV money (which the article points out was always there as a major revenue) won't gloss over the cost of incompetence.

[jbyrne]

Twenty million yoyos....20,000,000....down the tubes because some ticket scheme by a genius like Delaney hit the skids.

not just the FAI in trouble over ticket sales. read the article above on the IRFU. You can blame Delaney for many things but the recession isnt one of them

[bennocelt]

not just the FAI in trouble over ticket sales. read the article above on the IRFU. You can blame Delaney for many things but the recession isnt one of them

And again, no he should be praised! Do you work for the Failures?

[jbyrne]

And again, no he should be praised! Do you work for the Failures?

not just the FAI in trouble over ticket sales. read the article above on the IRFU. You can blame Delaney for many things but the recession isnt one of them

read the post thanks

[Alf Honn]

not just the FAI in trouble over ticket sales. read the article above on the IRFU. You can blame Delaney for many things but the recession isnt one of them

Are u for REAL?!

Recession was well under way when he put out those ridiculous vantage tickets at 30k a pop.

Everyone but him realised it was doomed to fail but he barged on, got burned but kept saying sales were flying.

Glad you brought up IRFU. Are we aware they fully sold their premium tkts before stadium had even opened? Difference is they sold a year earlier and at half the price.

Their current IRFU problem with sales of normal 10 yr tkts just highlights how fanciful the FAI's predictions for sales are.

Buck stops with your friend, Mr Delaney.

[Crosby87]

This will also get your dander up Alfred.

[pineapple stu]

What earthly relevance has that got with the topic?!

[geysir]

Maybe so but then I would have a bloody big house (one of the biggest in the land), that I owned, would get a nice bit in return every year in rent, and if things get a bit itchy there are always those national lottery grants to help
Last I heard the debt to Wembley was roughly 350 million, which for a big organisation like the FA is manageable - but i havent got the latest figures - sorry

I'm confused Benno, originally you had asked how much rent do the FA pay on Wembley, instead I think you meant to ask what income do they get for renting the place out. Why are you doing this to me? not to mention derailing the thread with a brainf'art
That's sloppy attention to detail, the FAI could do with a guy like you.

The main point is, Wembley has a 50 year lifeline, Lansdowne rd has a 60 year lifeline. Is there a problem with understanding that? Can we accept that 'fact' and move on. Whether the FA has a truckload of cash available to burn on the Wembley project is irrelevant, the FAI don't have.
I don't doubt that the FAI can pay off their stadium debt and it will work out much better than playing our internationals in the RDS or renting out Croke Pk.
The problem is, there's not going to be much, if any, of the annual income left over for the game at local level.

[jbyrne]

Are u for REAL?!

Recession was well under way when he put out those ridiculous vantage tickets at 30k a pop.

Everyone but him realised it was doomed to fail but he barged on, got burned but kept saying sales were flying.

Glad you brought up IRFU. Are we aware they fully sold their premium tkts before stadium had even opened? Difference is they sold a year earlier and at half the price.

Their current IRFU problem with sales of normal 10 yr tkts just highlights how fanciful the FAI's predictions for sales are.

Buck stops with your friend, Mr Delaney.

actually the FAI started selling 10 year tickets back in 2004 and they did sell quite well at that stage. remember the massive waiting list to become a blockbooker back then?

the IRFU were selling ten year tickets regularly back as far as 1982 to help fund the new east stand at the time. they hadnt even dreamt up the new stadium as we know it back then so if you are saying the IRFU had the foresight that the FAI didnt in particular reference to the new stadium then you are wrong. both were selling 10 year tickets long before then.

i am not here to defend Delaney but id be pretty sure the prices for the new stadium 10 year tickets were based on market research at the time and yes the prices being asked were bananas initially

[tetsujin1979]

FAI finances in the spotlight: http://sportforbusiness.com/?p=8703

[Stuttgart88]

Interesting, thanks. Presumably tomorrow's article will compare footy, rugger and GAA?

The article Tets posted seems to back up my opinion that there are some things the FAI does well. Clearly there are things it doesn't do well. The "joining up" of the domestic game, kicking obstructive and powerful vested interests into touch and having a governance structure conducive to this would appear to me to be the areas that it needs to address.

The Airtricity League making a collective profit is an interesting development.

[bennocelt]

I'm confused Benno, originally you had asked how much rent do the FA pay on Wembley, instead I think you meant to ask what income do they get for renting the place out. Why are you doing this to me? not to mention derailing the thread with a brainf'art
That's sloppy attention to detail, the FAI could do with a guy like you.

The main point is, Wembley has a 50 year lifeline, Lansdowne rd has a 60 year lifeline. Is there a problem with understanding that? Can we accept that 'fact' and move on. Whether the FA has a truckload of cash available to burn on the Wembley project is irrelevant, the FAI don't have.
I don't doubt that the FAI can pay off their stadium debt and it will work out much better than playing our internationals in the RDS or renting out Croke Pk.
The problem is, there's not going to be much, if any, of the annual income left over for the game at local level.

So how long into this thread did it take you to figure my point!!

[Stuttgart88]

I've just re-read from page 5 onwards and you didn't make that point at all. Alf Honn came closest. You just jumped on jbyrne and added dumb sarcasm like JD warranting applause. Not warranting ridicule is not the same as warranting congratulations.

I think most here have serious reservations about JD and the management of the FAI but getting into debt to finance a capital project in a booming economy 2006/7 was nowhere near the worst criticism one can direct at him.

The whole country (bar you of course ) had a collective brain fart when it came to real estate and debt. The difference in the FAI's case was that they actually needed the new property and the government scuppered a perfectly decent and risk-free (it was underwritten by Deutsche Bank) eircom Park project around 10 years ago.