FAI TO APPROVE RESCUE DEAL BY EMAIL

THE FAI Council is set to approve the Association’s €50m rescue deal today by email ballot because of the coronavirus. The FAI hierarchy, under independent chairman Roy Barrett, had called the summit of the 79 delegates for the Castleknock Hotel. However, Council members have expressed a reluctance to gather in such a large number due to the pandemic. As a compromise, interim chief executive Gary Owens last night requested Council members to agree to an email vote by 8.30am today. ‘There is the possibility that the Government may make decisions today or tomorrow which may place further restrictions on people travelling or holding group meetings. ‘The board believes that we should proceed on this particular occasion and in these extraordinary circumstances to approve the resolution via email,’ Owens told Council members. ‘It is essential that this

Council sanction is received tomorrow to keep the Association alive.’ Assuming the majority of members agree, the Council meeting will be abandoned and feedback to members will be passed on electronically. The terms of the deal entail extending the maturity date of the primary €28.5m loan on Aviva Stadium borrowings from 2021 to 2030. In addition, an upfront €14m loan is being supplied for cashflow purposes, to be repaid from 2022-2028 at

€2.5m per annum directly from the UEFA centralised TV deal. There is also the option until December 2021 of increasing this loan by €10m. The bailout involves support from the state, UEFA and the Bank of Ireland. It was agreed on January 30 and has been subject to legal scrutiny since. Owens had been scheduled to address specifics on the deal and field questions from Council.