Government suspends €6.8m funding in latest FAI blow

The FAI has had €6.8m of funding suspended by the government amid further concerns about governance and reforms at the association.

Sport Ireland - the body that releases State funding to various sports groups - was tasked with overseeing, reviewing and assessing the FAI's implementation of and adherence to the Memorandum of Understanding [MoU] between the Government and the FAI in 2020, which led to a rescue package for the cash strapped organisation.

There has been a delay in the release of funding to the FAI pending clarification of compliance by the organisation with aspects of the MoU.

It emerged in recent weeks that the FAI's CEO Jonathan Hill received payments - made to him in lieu of holidays not taken and expenses related to commuting from the UK - that were above an agreed limit set out in the MoU.

Hill has since apologised while the association expressed regret that the episode had damaged attempts to rebuild trust in the organisation.

Under the terms of the MoU, the FAI is also tasked with having 40% female representation on the board by the end of this year. The proposed change was put forward at an EGM earlier this month to allow the FAI to comply with the directive, but it failed to pass.

"At the moment there's a sum of €6.8 million outstanding to the FAI from Sport Ireland," Minister for Sport Thomas Byrne told the Seanad on Tuesday.

"We want to get that money to the FAI as soon as possible. Sport Ireland paused that money, in order that KOSI could conduct an audit to consider whether an MOU condition regarding CEO remuneration was embedded in the organisation in 2022.

"I have spoken about this before, last week I met members of Sport Ireland to discuss the FAI's response to the KOSI audit and I want to