TALKING A GOOD
The FAI has a toxic legacy to get over but the new man in charge projects positivity as he seeks to lift Irish football at every level
JONATHAN Hill had been fielding questions from the media for well over two hours by the time his Zoom session with Sunday journalists began on Friday afternoon. It had been a long morning but there had been much to discuss. His first few months as FAI chief executive had been eventful.
To be fair, there was no shying away from some of the thornier issues. Or the mess left by one of the previous incumbents. And perhaps, nothing sums up the toxic legacy left by John Delaney’s ruinous regime than the FAI still searching for a national team sponsor.
Think about that for a moment. Ireland’s most popular and high-profile international team in the world’s most popular sport is having difficulty finding a commercial partner. Of course, this is partly down to the FAI’s admirable stance in ruling out getting into bed with a bookmaker. However, even allowing for a global pandemic, it’s a headache that the cashstrapped Association could do without.
Hill, though, is confident a replacement for 3 will be found soon and pointed to the positive step of SSE Airtricity resuming their sponsorship of the League of Ireland, after initially announcing they were not renewing, as a sign that the FAI’s brand isn’t as untouchable as some believe.
‘In a Covid-affected marketplace, is it the best time to be going and trying to find a new national team sponsor? Absolutely not. The reality is that in this current environment, there’s not that many brands with the financial wherewithal to commit to the level of sponsorship we are ideally looking for,’ acknowledged Hill.
However, Hill still believes the global reach of football and the prospect of World Cup qualification (even allowing for the tough group in which Stephen Kenny and his players were drawn) can work in their favour.
‘Football is still the number one sport in the world and the number one brand for sponsors to align themselves to. It delivers the biggest and most engaged audiences of any sport and it throws up a huge amount of stories.
‘And we have a great story to tell in 2021 because it is World Cup qualification year. I don’t think there is any sporting team who can galvanise the Irish public as much in this sort of year. So, do I think we will find a national team sponsor? Of course, I do, and we will do.’
The chief executive accepted that having the excesses of the previous regime, and the mountainous debt that was accrued, in the headlines has not helped.
‘I would rather those stories were not on the front pages in relation to the FAI. I would like the stories to be wholly in relation to football issues and success. Being realistic, of course, that may have had an effect on potential partners but there is not a great deal I can do. It is what it is,’ added the 58-year-old Yorkshire man who is a lifelong Leeds United fan. ‘I concentrate on trying to tell as many good, positive, forward-looking stories as I can. That is what I am looking to do. We are asking people to partner with the League of Ireland or with the senior men’s or women’s team. We are not asking them to partner with an individual from the past of Irish football.’
The historical baggage of what went on for the past decade is still being carried by the Association. Promises of grants to soccer clubs across the country, totalling over €1 million, have to be fulfilled. And will be, according to Hill.
There’s also a tax liability to be cleared and, as Hill accepts, legal costs which can be a drain on resources as ‘the Irish football market appears to be slightly more litigious generally than other football markets’. However, he insisted that the FAI will have a cleaner slate when it comes to their accounts for this year and beyond.
Brexit has presented Irish football with another problem as it has closed off the traditional avenue of having English clubs develop the best young footballers in this country. That difficulty, though, can be seized as an opportunity, especially for League of Ireland clubs who should now be more proactive in nurturing teenage talent. If this is done properly, it is a situation where everyone could win.
‘Out of this adversity, I would like to see this as an ongoing catalyst for the programmes we have for elite player pathways,’ Hill agrees.
‘I think we’ve done some really good work and I don’t think that stops as a consequence of Brexit.
The 14- and 15-year-olds coming through see a pathway and I certainly don’t believe it’s gone because they can’t go to England at 16 or 17.
‘I do see the League playing a bigger role with the academy system. We need to work with all levels of the game, from grassroots to underage leagues to League of Ireland clubs through to the national team structure. We need to have the infrastructure, facilities and quality of coaching in place to allow what we have put together in terms of an elite player pathway programme to be as strong as possible as we face
these external difficulties. We have to be confident in the quality of coaches we have in Ireland. We’ve some brilliant people in the Association responsible for that. But I want players back playing football. That is the biggest existential threat at the moment, not Brexit. It is that our younger teams have not played football for 15 or 16 months.
‘But we will react to the challenges of Brexit the same way we have reacted to the challenges of Covid and it is incumbent on everyone within Irish football to share the responsibility we have for developing our 14, 15 and 16 years old as they come through the elite system.’
The national women’s team have made great strides in recent years and, having secured Vera Pauw for the 2023 World Cup qualification campaign, Hill expects that to continue in the coming two years – although he wouldn’t be drawn on whether they would receive parity in international match fees as their male counterparts, as has happened in some European countries.
‘When Vera talks, I listen,’ Hill said. ‘She has a very sensible approach to the whole issue of parity. She wants parity of approach. She recognises that there won’t be parity of actual financial amounts in the short-term because of the disparity of the monies that go into the two sides of the game, particularly in relation to prize money.
‘But I will work with Vera, as well as the men, in relation to having a sensible approach with regard to that issue of match fees. That is part of our ongoing agenda to support women’s football. We have all the women’s SSE Airtricity League games streamed for free, which is important.
‘We are a little bit behind the curve in relation to other European markets, but I see that as an opportunity to drive growth. A lot of that growth will come from Vera and the team continuing to play attractive football and hopefully, qualify for the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.’
There is plenty on Jonathan Hill’s plate, then, as he tries to steer Irish football towards a better and more sustainable future.