FAI chief executive John Delaney has conceded that the association will be in difficulty over the use of Lansdowne Road much sooner than originally thought if the Irish team finishes second in its World Cup group and so qualifies for the play-off games.
The matches are scheduled to take place on November 12th and 16th, but there are rugby internationals against New Zealand and Australia pencilled in at the ground for the 12th and 19th. Though the second of the play-off dates is clear, the time taken to get the bucket seats in and out of the ground would appear to be longer than the FAI has to play with.
Delaney said after the FAI's agm in Waterford on Saturday they had been looking at options, which would appear to include playing the game without the temporary seating (which would cut capacity to 23,000), approaching the GAA about the use of Croke Park or switching to a British venue. Another possibility would be to ask FIFA about delaying the tie and this may end up being the most palatable way forward.
"Obviously the primary thing is to go and win the group in which case none of this will become an issue," said Delaney, "but if it does occur we will have to look at alternative venues.
"My own belief," he added, "is that it takes about 10 days to get the seats in and out of the ground and so it would be difficult to play a soccer international in Lansdowne Road during that time. You could play there without the seats but it's not preferable. Certainly you could go cross-channel as well but let's see how the group pans out."
A request to use Croke Park is also possible, though the recent rule change in relation to the use of the stadium by other organisations specifically dealt with the period for which Lansdowne is to undergo rebuilding.
It is far from clear that the FAI would want to seek access prior to that or, if they did, the association would grant it.
Noel King, meanwhile, will tomorrow be confirmed as the first full-time manager of the Irish women's national football team, just a couple of days before he takes his squad to Moscow for the first game of the Republic's new World Cup campaign.
The appointment marks another step forward in the ongoing expansion of the FAI's coaching and development departments and is set to be followed over the coming months by the recruitment of half a dozen development officers, although these positions are dependent on the receipt of additional funding from the Irish Sports Council, with whom the FAI is currently in talks regarding the issue.
Maurice Fleming was elected to the position of vice president while Monaghan United's Eddie Murray has become the new honorary treasurer of the association.
