Wexford Youths could be wound-up next week over €200,000 debt

WEXFORD Youths FC could be wound-up next week after the liquidator of Deputy Mick Wallace’s construction company formally applied for the action over the club’s €200,000 debt to the company.

The winding-up petition is to be heard by the High Court on Friday, April 24 and creditors, or anyone wishing to support or oppose the petition, has been asked to attend.

The action will not impact Wexford FC which separated itself from Wallace earlier this or the Youths former pitch, Ferrycarrig Park, which was jointly bought by the FAI and the Wexford Football League in 2015.

Barry Devereux, club secretary of Wexford FC said the liquidation of Wexford Youths Football Club Limited ‘will not have any effect on the operations of our new League of Ireland Club - Wexford FC, based at Ferrycarrig Park.’ ‘We are very much looking forward to the future, providing the best coaching, the best facilities, and a pathway for local players of all ages to compete in our National League. We would like to take this opportunity to thank our loyal fans for their support in this transition period,’ he told this newspaper.

M&J Wallace, which went into liquidation last year, is owed €206,884 by Wexford Youths, according to club accounts. Wexford Youths was founded by Wallace in 2007 and he still owns all its shares.

Wexford Youths FC was relegated from the premier division last year. Its Ferrycarrig Park ground will not be affected by the winding-up petition. The stadium was bought from the receiver by Wexford Football League and the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) in 2015.

Micheál Leydon of Outlook Accountants, in Tallaght, the liquidator appointed to M&J Wallace, presented a petition to wind up the club to the High Court on March 20. It followed talks between the club and the FAI over plans to repay M&J Wallace.

Wallace was made bankrupt with debts of €30m late last year. He and his son Sasha remain directors of Wexford Youths.

The club’s last published accounts, for 2015, show accumulated losses of €241,172.

They document an interest-free loan of €181,884 owed to its “parent company”, M&J Wallace, and a further €25,000 owed to the same entity.