Merrion Square sees the start of real change

Interview: Just a matter of days after the Irish senior team confirmed its re-entry into the race for automatic Euro 2004 qualification the FAI has started to explore the commercial opportunities that will come with participation at next summer's championship finals in Portugal. Emmet Malone talks to Fran Rooney about his aims for the FAI.

Though the association's chief executive, Fran Rooney, has been working on several aspects of his new job for some time the former Baltimore boss only took on the post on a full-time basis at the start of this week and one of his first meetings was aimed at weighing up the possibilities that would arise out of qualification.

With officials at the association admitting that the process of generating revenue out of last year's World Cup ended up being rushed because of the short run in to the tournament after the play-offs against Iran, it was decided that in future it would be best to have exploratory talks with potential backers before qualification had been achieved.

"What we have done already is have preliminary meetings aimed at establishing that principle," says Rooney. "It's obviously early days but we're hopeful that the team can go on and qualify, either directly or through the play-offs, and in the event that that happens then we want to be in a position to decide between the various opportunities that would be open to us."

Rooney restated his belief that revenue generation will be a key part of his job with the association but said that any decision on how any additional resources might be allocated would require consultation within the organisation.

"I want to ensure that there is more money coming into Irish football but where it goes then is something to be decided on at a later date."

The eircom League, he says, would be a priority and he says that a process aimed at establishing how the FAI might better support the senior game has already been initiated.

"Of course the league is vital to us and we need to look at how we might best position it going forward.

"There are a number of issues that need to be looked at, communications, facilities, funding, we need to figure out how it can market itself better.

"I think the key issue for the league is how it can get more people through the gates and into games. If we can do that then you get a better atmosphere and that in turn improves the experience people have at the games. What we are looking at now is ways of starting that cycle off so that you start generating additional money which can then be reinvested in the game.

"On the facilities front, we'll be looking for further support from the Government who, despite the current economic climate, remain supportive, but there are a range of other measures that might help and we'll be aiming to provide whatever support to clubs and the league as a whole we can."

In the more immediate future, Rooney expects a response from the Government to the joint submission on a new stadium drawn up with the IRFU within the next three weeks or so. He remains optimistic, he says, about the Government's intentions despite rumours that the project may again be delayed or even finally scuppered.

"We haven't heard anything like that," he remarks. "What we have been told, both formally and informally, is that they'll react to the submission within the next month. After that we're just hopeful. I have no preferences as to the location of the new stadium but as I've said before we do need one; we've made a strong case for its construction and we believe that it has to be large enough to cope with the bigger crowds that ourselves and the IRFU can attract. I mean we could have sold far more than the 36,000 seats in Lansdowne Road for last week's two qualifiers and we could easily sell twice that number for the Russia game."

Other issues on his desk include the reorganisation, and possible relocation, of the association's offices - a consultation process about the changes ahead has been started and a move remains likely as he concedes that Merrion Square is neither big enough nor "particularly suitable" for the organisation's needs.

Work is continuing, meanwhile, on the association's technical plan which both Packie Bonner and Brian Kerr have been involved with, while the committee charged with implementing the recommendations of the Genesis report has, he insists, made considerable progress.

"I have to laugh sometimes when I hear people talking about the Genesis report," he says. "It's referred to as if these people just walked in to the offices one day and started spotting problems. The reality is that this was a case of the FAI inviting structural criticism of itself. The findings were very clear and we have taken them on board but the report of the implementation committee is a terrific document because basically they have worked their way through the list and checked off the recommendations as they have acted on them."

Reform of the board of management should follow at next month's AGM in Galway and he says: "I don't think there will be any huge problems about it. I see Genesis as a pathway to change and I think most people realise that change needn't be a negative thing. We have a great deal to do as an organisation to be where we want to be but I think the important thing now is that we're clearly moving in the right direction."