Latest news with #AlignedFootballCalendar
RTÉ News
a day ago
- Sport
- RTÉ News
FAI amateur cup competitions switch to summer season
Following last week's announcement that the FAI would allow leagues to exempt themelves from the aligned football calendar, the association have confirmed that their major amateur and youth cup competitions would be switching to a calendar year season. The FAI Intermediate Cup, the FAI Youth Cup and the FAI Junior Cup are among those competition switching from a winter season to an aligned calendar season, bringing them into line with the League of Ireland. ""Aligning our major cup competitions is a strategic priority that will deliver benefits for everyone involved in the game," said FAI Grassroots Director Ger McDermott in the statement. "It helps us to create a more coherent and predictable schedule for players, coaches, volunteers and administrators, while also improving the pathway and connection between amateur football and our League of Ireland. "We understand this is a significant change, and we thank our clubs and leagues for their cooperation as we navigate this transitional period together." This comes in the wake of last week's significant climbdown, with FAI President Paul Cooke confirming to delegates that leagues would be allowed to exempt themelves from the Aligned Football Calendar and retain a winter league schedule. This was a major change to the Football Pathways Plan, which was unanimously endorsed by the FAI Board and which was narrowly passed by the FAI's General Assembly, with 57% of the delegates voting for the proposal. It nonetheless generated heated debate, with the schoolboys/schoolgirls FAI and the Leinster FA being in the vanguard of the opposition. The Carlow and District Football League were among those who insisted they would be conforming to the Aligned Calendar, with league secretary Brian O'Reilly, in an interview on the RTÉ Soccer podcast, citing the strain on volunteers and the impact on those who play both soccer and GAA. In his letter to delegates last week, Cooke insisted that ""The Football Pathways Plan continues to be implemented as part of the on-going development and future of Irish football whilst also respecting the implementation challenges that leagues may encounter in relation to the Aligned Football Calendar."
Irish Daily Mirror
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Daily Mirror
Death knell sounds on FAI's 'summer football' plans in Ireland
The FAI has confirmed that leagues will be offered an 'exemption' if they want to cold shoulder plans for an aligned football calendar. It is a major blow to the association's aim to have all strands of the game - from schoolboy to adult amateur - united and playing on the same timelines of the League of Ireland. The move was one of the main cornerstones of the FAI's Football Pathways Plan and was driven by former FAI Chief Football Officer Marc Canham, who has since left. But 'summer football' met stiff resistance from a number of leagues around the country, many of which urged the FAI board not to press ahead with the proposals. And today's notification from the FAI effectively sounds the death knell on 'summer football' in Ireland. Leagues that have been dead against aligning the calendar year, and who want to stay in the traditional August to May format, can now seek exemptions. Although the terms and conditions of those exemptions have yet to be outlined by the association. The FAI wrote to its General Assembly delegates today and said: 'The Board of the Football Association of Ireland has decided to implement an exemption process by application for leagues with regard to our Aligned Football Calendar. 'The terms of reference of the exemption process will be agreed by the Board and communicated with members of the General Assembly in due course. "The Football Pathways Plan continues to be implemented as part of the on-going development and future of Irish football whilst also respecting the implementation challenges that leagues may encounter in relation to the Aligned Football Calendar.' Get the latest sports headlines straight to your inbox by signing up for free email alerts.
Irish Examiner
08-08-2025
- Politics
- Irish Examiner
FAI admit defeat on 'summer soccer' plan
The FAI have admitted defeat in its controversial plan to expand the League of Ireland summer season across all levels of the game. Recently departed chief football officer Marc Canham produced a Football Pathway Plan 18 months ago which claimed 65% of surveyed participants preferred an alignment of the seasons from underage to senior. Yet that position was soon challenged, with the two largest affiliates in the country, Schoolboys/girls FAI and Leinster FA pleading with the parent body to consider allowing leagues freedom to choose their format. The board backing of Canham's 11-point blueprint was passed at General Assembly level by a narrow 57% majority but the LFA branded the latter outcome as 'flawed'. Whereas the LOI voted among their clubs for the switch in 2002, this ballot was taken across all strands. Opposition soon spiked. On top of established affiliates, which included the majority of Ulster and Connacht, the Grassroots Amateur Football Clubs of Ireland was founded from the coalface. It was a fusion of 600 clubs across 22 leagues in 17 counties seeking autonomy, raising their concerns in political circles. Rather than helping the game grow, this move was perceived as hindering it, as the overlap with the core GAA games programme was cited. Other factors such as summer holidays, referee shortages and drop offs after breaks were raised, as well as the absence of impact study on clubs fearful of losing volunteers. Belatedly, the FAI bowed to pressure by undertaking a 'Listening and Learning exercise' in May – with the inevitable outcome of plans for roll-out from January 2026 being culled. Their ploy of linking grants for the Gaynor and Kennedy Cup tournaments to compliance with the move spectacularly backfired. A proposal to postpone implementation by three years was rejected by the SFAI, who highlighted the point that even the minority of leagues moving to summer supported the right to choose for others. It was noteworthy that FAI executives were not invited to these sessions, only elected officials. They relayed feedback to board level that the concept was a non-starter. An email from President Paul Cooke to the 145-strong General Assembly on Friday afternoon confirmed the climbdown. 'The FAI board of the Football Association of Ireland has decided to implement an exemption process by application for leagues with regard to our Aligned Football Calendar. 'The terms of reference of the exemption process will be agreed by the board and communicated with members of the General Assembly in due course. 'The FPP continues to be implemented as part of the on-going development and future of Irish football whilst also respecting the implementation challenges that leagues may encounter in relation to the Aligned Football Calendar.' The initial feeling is that leagues are reluctant to engage in this committee having already informed their clubs at recent AGMs of continuity. The traditional September-June format will be maintained by the majority, as it is for 80% of national associations across Uefa's 55 members.
Irish Independent
08-08-2025
- Sport
- Irish Independent
Blow to FAI aligned calendar plan as leagues offered ‘exemptions'
A standard calendar year across all leagues and competitions – summer football in shorthand – was one of the core principles of the Football Pathways Plan, launched by former Chief Football Officer Marc Canham. However, there was opposition from a number of leagues across the game and following representations to the FAI board, they can now continue to implement their own calendar year. The schoolboys/schoolgirls FAI and the Leinster FA were among those most opposed to a move to so-called summer football but other leagues had also expressed their reluctance to change. And in what will be seen as a major victory for the sceptics and an embarrassment for the FAI, leagues will be allowed to back out, though criteria for exemptions have not yet been outlined. 'The Board of the Football Association of Ireland has decided to implement an exemption process by application for leagues with regard to our Aligned Football Calendar,' said an email issued by the FAI to General Assembly delegates today. 'The terms of reference of the exemption process will be agreed by the Board and communicated with members of the General Assembly in due course. 'The Football Pathways Plan continues to be implemented as part of the on-going development and future of Irish football whilst also respecting the implementation challenges that leagues may encounter in relation to the Aligned Football Calendar.' Canham has since left his post with the FAI who are still in the process of hiring a long-term replacement, with Shane Robinson standing in in the interim.
