New eircom deal worth €7m to FAI

The FAI are expected to sign heads of agreement with eircom next Tuesday on a new five-year sponsorship deal which will earn the association and the National League an initial €1.2 million per annum between them.

With the value of the deal rising over its course it is believed the total value of the company's commitment to the game over its life span will exceed €7 million.

It has been widely known for some time that the association was renegotiating the terms of its sponsorship with eircom and it was generally believed that agreement on new terms had been reached in the summer.

It now appears, however, that as eircom were seeking additional access to senior international players for promotional purposes in return for the increased payments, the FAI were having to hammer out a new deal with player representatives on a range of issues, including match fees and image rights.

At yesterday's final meeting of the association's old board, chief executive Fran Rooney said the necessary agreements were now in place with the majority of the squad's members and that while a small number of the team's biggest stars, including Robbie Keane and Damien Duff, had refused to become involved with the new arrangements the deal can now finally be signed.

Under its terms the association will substantially increase their income from their main sponsor, an advance they hope can be repeated with several of their other commercial backers over the coming months. Eircom, however, will also receive considerable additional benefits under the new arrangement with, in addition to improved use of players, the company get a corporate box, match tickets for Lansdowne Road games and other extras with a total value estimated to be in excess €100,000 per annum.

Even then an additional €250,000 would be taken in year one of the deal, although much of this may go back out again to players in enhanced match fees, with players believed to be in line for a €1,000 per game increase.

In that case it will only be in the latter stages of the deal that the association will benefit substantially although the new arrangements with players may make it easier to secure additional funding from other sponsors during the months ahead.

There may, meanwhile, be additional friction between the leadership of the association and league over how the eircom money is divided up. The company will sponsor the league for the next five seasons and, to the obvious delight of Merrion Square officials, have committed themselves to a substantial spend.

Under the old arrangements the league received around a third of eircom's total spend on the sponsorship - the 2003 figure was around €950,000. In the new deal, no amount is specified for the league sponsorship but league officials seem certain to push for a similar percentage of the cash which, along with the 25 per cent cut of television revenue generated by the national team that they receive, they would see as their entitlement.

Rooney and the association's treasurer John Delaney, however, have signalled their intention to end this arrangement and to oblige the league to propose an annual budget to the association in future years and to seek funding in the same way other leagues, affiliates and departments will have to. There has been some support for this approach amongst clubs but the majority are believed to oppose the loss of independence it would involve and the changes are certain to be fiercely resisted by the league's senior officials.

Yesterday's meeting also rubber- stamped an agreement on how the €3 million available for the upgrade of National League grounds is to be allocated. Under the arrangement, the four clubs who qualify for European competition next season will receive the lion's share of the money, with the rest being allocated smaller sums to improve safety at grounds.

Cork City, Shelbourne, Bohemians and Longford Town will, in total, be allocated around €2.5 million to bring their grounds up to the standards required by UEFA's licensing system. The remaining funds will be divided up amongst the other clubs, with the other four Premier Division outfits that have their own home grounds doing best out of the deal.

League clubs have failed to draw down some €4.7 million in capital grants previously awarded to them and Rooney said yesterday he has written to the Minister for the Arts, Sports and Tourism, John O'Donoghue requesting this money remain available until the clubs in question are in a position to use it. He has also asked that a further €3 million be given to league sides for each of the next three years to help meet a revised timetable for meeting the infrastructural requirements of the UEFA licensing system.