NIALL QUINN HAS defended the Football Association of Ireland in the wake of controversy over funding it received.
The board of Basketball Ireland recently suggested their fellow sports organisation were handed a “get-out-of-jail-free card,“ while accusing the Government of “double standards” for signing off on a rescue package worth €30 million to the embattled association.
When Basketball Ireland found themselves in similar financial difficulty in 2008, as unexpected debts of €1.5 million were accumulated, they were not afforded similar funds, prompting cost-cutting measures, including suspension of their international programmes, half their employees being made redundant and a levy placed on members.
While Quinn expressed sympathy for Basketball Ireland’s plight, he defended the support granted to the FAI.
“We don’t want to go into a rivalry with other sports,” he said, speaking at today’s League of Ireland media launch.
“Basketball Ireland are unhappy and I understand that. But I want to us to be part of something with Basketball Ireland where we all go and show the government how important sport is and that basketball get their funding, that we get far more funding.
“At the moment there’s a bit of tit for tat and rightly so, because I will remonstrate with anybody who gives out about the money we got, because we’re handing €30 million minimum back to the exchequer in four months’ time.
“Rugby got €20 million — delighted for them. Would love to know how they did it. We’d love to use best practice going forward so we can get our stadia in the same boat, so we can get better facilities.
“Can we find a forum where sport comes at government and continuously reminds government of its value? I’m sure some of you have seen the results of the socio-economic research and what football does for this country.
“It’s conveniently forgotten by most people and just because we got the support we got, it doesn’t mean I’m not going to keep that message going out there. We can’t fight with other sports. When the basketball one came up, the troika was in town at that time, the country was on its knees and I’ve huge sympathy for them. My two nieces played for Ireland at that time and it was really tough.
“It’s a different landscape now. And rather than saying ‘you got this and we didn’t get that’ — that day is gone. And rather than fighting, the day of ‘us and them,’ or giving out about GAA and rugby, let’s get together and improve everybody’s lot in sport.”
Meanwhile, Quinn also expressed hope that today represents the start of “a new approach by the FAI” in relation to the League of Ireland.
“I know, having been in here for the time we’ve been in here that we have to be enablers for the advancement of the game.
“The good thing is we’re actually charged with doing that under the terms of the agreement. So this isn’t a good thing to do, we’re actually obliged to do this, or if we don’t do it, the government take the money back and it all falls apart. So that’s a great onus to have and to be working under.”
Elaborating on the potential ramifications of Brexit and whether or not it would benefit Irish football if promising young players are prevented from travelling to Britain until the age of 18, Quinn said: “Personally, I want to see any young person who leaves here to go to England with an education.
“I was robbed in some ways of my education. I was in sixth year when I left, I could have stayed, but I didn’t. And I always regret that — I’ll get back and do it one day.