LEAGUE’S RELIEF AT CASH POT
an August start date for the Women’s National League.”
FAI chairman Roy Barrett (above) said: “Our funds have been tested greatly by Covid-19 so this funding is most welcome.”
But while League of Ireland stakeholders are increasingly bullish about an imminent return after this funding bonanza, the devil is in the detail.
The FAI will share a pot of €40million with the GAA and IRFU but it will be distributed on a “caseby-case basis”.
There was no breakdown of funds for the League provided, but the restart pot stood at €3.3million on Tuesday.
That included a €2m guarantee that the FAI board had yet to approve pending confirmation of any Government or FIFA aid.
Government also made an additional €5m available to support ‘restart’ projects across all sports, which could also benefit the League.
And the FAI is also awaiting a second tranche of Covid-19 aid from FIFA in the weeks ahead.
The FAI Cup appears to be safe as it’s unlikely that the €300k cost of it will need to be redirected into the restart pot.
Either way, that decision will rest with the FAI and not UEFA.
UEFA won’t be interfering but the Cup winner’s European spot can be allocated to the fourth placed team in the league, if needed.
Clubs must wait to find out how much cash is going to the league but some are already wondering if the redrawn season could extend beyond 18 games.
But crunch talks in the coming days will determine that.
The league restart is still likely by July 31, by which stage 500 people will be allowed into matches.