Sinn Féin spokesperson on sport, Chris Andrews TD, has expressed his concern over last night’s FAI Assembly vote on a proposal to restructure its board to appoint two additional independent directors to meet gender quota requirements.

Teachta Andrews said:

“The potential impact of last night’s vote on Irish football is significant.

“The Government has made it clear that a failure to achieve the 40% gender target this year could result in a 50% reduction in core funding. Access to other funding streams such as sports capital grants are also under threat.

“Irish football is already severely underfunded and in dire need of increased investment.

“To have funding halved has the potential to have a devastating impact on participation level in football and the development of the sport.

“While a clear majority of 67% support the change, the vote failed to achieve the 75% threshold for the motion to pass.

“While this is an internal matter for the FAI, it is imperative that grassroots clubs and the League of Ireland are not forced to pay a harsh price due to a minority. I am calling on the government and the leadership of the FAI to continue to work to find a solution, in what time remains.”