FAI director of football Marc Canham updated the board of directors on Tuesday night about the vacant Republic of Ireland manager’s job. It was anticipated that Lee Carsley’s name would go before the board for ratification, but the recruitment process remains ongoing.
Jonathan Hill, the association’s chief executive, stated in December that a replacement for Stephen Kenny would ideally be appointed before the Nations League B draw in Paris on February 8th, when England and Wales are potential opposition. Kenny’s contract ended last November.
“We are getting into the detail, as we should, with a good update from Jonathan and the executive team,” Tony Keohane, the FAI’s independent chairperson, told RTÉ after a four-hour meeting. “Tired, but very pleased. I expect [to announce a new manager] in the next short while. I don’t want to give an absolute time because it is a work in progress but in the not too distant future.”
Belgium and Switzerland come to the Aviva Stadium in March for friendlies with Hungary slated to visit Dublin next June as part of their preparation for the Euros in Germany. The Nations League returns in September.
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“The matches in March are really important preparatory games,” said Hill on December 9th. “From February, you definitely want someone working full-time in relation to those opponents.”
The FAI has denied offering anyone the job, but The Irish Times understands that discussions with Carsley lacked the necessary incentives for him to leave his current position as England under-21s coach.
After guiding England to the underage Euros title last summer, the 49-year-old is being tipped for managerial vacancies in the EFL Championship where he could command a salary of around €800,000. Kenny was believed to be on €560,000. Considering the FAI rebranded both their men’s and women’s manager as a “head coach”, Hill was previously asked if the new person would be paid less than Kenny.
“We’ll work through that once we know who we’re talking to and what their situation is,” he replied before confirming that the coaching ticket salaries will be paid from the association’s budget, unlike previous managers Giovanni Trapattoni and Martin O’Neill whose lucrative deals were part-funded by businessman Denis O’Brien.
“Obviously, budget will be one of the issues. It’s relevant to all the areas we have to look at in terms of 2024 and beyond. It’s definitely a factor. We’re pretty confident we’ll find the right person.”
[ Lee Carsley reported to have turned down Ireland job as FAI insist no offers madeOpens in new window ]
The FAI revealed a debt of €50.9 million in their 2022 accounts.
Canham, along with Hill and board member Packie Bonner, spent last week in England interviewing candidates. The “head coach” would oversee a style of play adopted by representative sides from under-15 up to the senior squad. This may require more time working in Ireland outside international windows. Carsley lives in Birmingham.
Keohane may also have addressed the executive’s imminent return to Leinster House and an appearance before the Oireachtas’ Public Accounts Committee when the spending of a €33.7 million pandemic grant will be examined.
Meanwhile, a report from the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media has commended the FAI for “significant progress” by achieving 159 of 163 recommendations laid out in a memorandum of understanding before the Government gave the association a €30.8 million rescue package in 2020. However, one of the four outstanding items is a failure to achieve 33.3 per cent female representation among the general assembly.
“I am looking around the room and we are nowhere near the 40 per cent target on the general assembly,” Ursula Scully, a former board member, told the FAI AGM last year. “We have not put in place any programmes or initiatives in the last four years. I fully support the role that independent [female directors Liz Joyce and Catherine Guy] bring but they don’t bring visibility, they don’t bring retention, they don’t bring pathways and they don’t show how women from within the game can get to the top table.”
The FAI intends to appoint two female directors, one from inside the game, to an expanded 14-person board.
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