Football Association of Ireland used €1m of Covid resilience funds to pay off 'legacy' debt

The Football Association of Ireland has admitted that it used some of the €33.7 million provided for Covid-19 resilience to pay off a 'legacy' debt, which was against the terms of state funding intended only to offset turnover losses caused by the pandemic.

In response to a question from Deputy Malcolm Byrne at the Public Accounts Committee in Leinster House this morning, FAI Director of Finance Dan McCormack said that just under €1m of that Sport Ireland funding was used to pay off a "legacy commercial liability".

In response to a further question from Deputy Byrne, Sport Ireland CEO Dr Una May said that a KOSI audit had assured SI that the money was "accurately spent" and that the scheme was appropriately enforced.

Since 2020, the FAI has reduced its debt by €20m, from €63.5m to the current figure of €43m.

FAI chief executive Jonathan Hill told Paul McAulliffe TD that that reduction has come about "through scheduled and unscheduled payments", with funding from Europe's football governing body UEFA transferred directly to Bank of Ireland to reduce debt.

Hill said that will be "four hard and difficult years up to 2028" when hosting the European Championship is expected to deliver financial gains.

He said that as some of the legacy debt had "a very, very high interest rate, it was wholly sensible for the organisation" to pay it down to enable a move towards financial self-sufficiency and that the FAI "are hopeful that by 2031" it will be on a stable footing financially.

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Earlier, FAI President Paul Cooke said that his confidence in Hill has been "challenged by recent events" surrounding the payment of €12,000 to