Summer soccer 'dead in the water' as FAI face revolt over aligned calendar

THERE ARE SIGNIFICANT fears in the FAI that the aligned calendar season for the grassroots game as part of the Football Pathways Plan is now dead in the water.

The 42 understands that a board meeting scheduled for next week is set to see the plans shelved after feedback given to FAI president Paul Cooke and other board members over the last month.

Correspondence sent to members of the Schoolboys/Girls Football Association of Ireland (SFAI) detailed how delegations from the Leinster, Ulster and Connacht FAs told the FAI during negotiations that they were mandated to unanimously reject the switch on behalf of their members.

In the letter seen by The 42, the SFAI also state that there is now “overwhelming proof of the lack of support from existing Winter Leagues to switch and support from Summer Leagues for the Right of Choice”.

It’s also understood that the Dublin District Schoolboys/Girls League (DDSL) were planning a revolt against the stated aim from the FAI for a phased introduction of the aligned calendar beginning with U5 to U12s from January 2026, and that several other underage leagues around the country were also planning a boycott of the directives from Abbotstown.

It was only this April that FAI Grassroots Director Ger McDermott detailed how the aligned calendar plan – or summer soccer as it was dubbed by critics – would require a culture shift for grassroots football and that schedules for the 12 months would need to be flexible to ensure “more football at most appropriate” times.

A third of leagues had not yet engaged with the FAI about aims to have a fully aligned pathway up to professional League of Ireland level by 2028.

The letter revealed that at a meeting between the FAI and SFAI recently the governing body suggested the possibility of suspending implementation of the aligned calendar season by three years to allow further consultation and preparation.

However, this was viewed by the SFAI as unacceptable “as the mandate from over 40 leagues was for the right of choice, and current winter leagues’ right to remain in winter season.”

A source close to the situation described the aligned calendar season as “dead in the water” with the expectation being that next week’s board meeting will see the governing body climb down on the plans that were part of the bedrock of former chief football officer Marc Canham’s Football Pathways Plan.

The Englishman finished up with the FAI only this Tuesday after handing in his notice earlier in the year.

In December, the FAI’s general assembly voted through the plans by a margin of 74 votes to 56 after they had been presented and approved by the board.

President Cooke said during the assembly that the decision to switch from the traditional winter campaign had “changed the face” of the game in this country as Ireland was the only country within Uefa without an aligned schedule throughout a fully functioning football pyramid from grassroots to professional level.

“Hopefully enough [FAI] board members will recognise the game is up,” the SFAI letter stated.

This potentially devasting blow to the implementation one of the core tenets of the FAI’s Football Pathways Plan comes at a critical juncture for the Irish game.

It was only in late April that a letter was circulated to members of the Oireachtas from a newly founded group called the Grassroots Amateur Football Clubs of Ireland (GAFCI), accusing the FAI of “irresponsible if not reckless” actions relating to the aligned calendar season.

The timing of that correspondence coincided with around 90 TDs and Senators from all parties preparing to welcome the FAI’s chief executive, David Courell, League of Ireland academy director Will Clarke, and grassroots director McDermott for presentations on Wednesday, 30 April.

Packie Bonner, independent FAI director and chair of the international and high-performance committee, was also in attendance but did not make a presentation.

The FAI are also currently in the process of an independent audit of League of Ireland academies with the aim of producing a funding document for Government by 15 August in order to try and secure backing in October’s Budget. The FAI board are due to meet on Tuesday.

Click here to read article