FAI President Paul Cooke calls on grassroots to put pressure on government

FAI President Paul Cooke, in his first AGM as President, has called on grassroot members to put pressure on the government to support Irish soccer.

He called for the FAI to be given a share of the government betting tax and insisted that the association deserved the investment.

Cooke said that he and his fellow board members had worked "bloody hard to eradicate the mistakes of the past" and in relation to seeking support of local politicians, he said to tell them in the forthcoming general election that "if they want your vote we want their support."

Cooke told the floor that he and other members of the FAI board remained fully supportive of the women who had suffered abuse while involved in football.

He revealed that he had personally met some of the women recently to hear from them their horrific stories of abuse and said that it must never happen again. Safeguarding, he said, was the highest priority for the association.

Elsewhere, Ireland's first appearance at a Women’s World Cup in 2023 and the hosting of women’s matches at the Aviva Stadium helped push income growth for the FAI.

Finance director Dan McCormack told delegates that income growth for the association was strong and match related income of €18.6 million euro was an increase of €9.5 million from 2022.

The FAI’s current borrowings are down from €50.9 million last year to €43.2 million this year.

Turnover has increased by over €8 million euro to €62.3 million but the cash balance has dwindled from almost €11 million to just €1.6 million euro.

Two independent board members, Packie Bonner and Robert Watt, sought ratification for extra terms as directors and Caroline Rhatigan was ratified as a director replacing Niamh O'Mahoney as a representative of the national