The Government is to make a renewed effort to convince the FAI to back away from its deal with Sky television so that Ireland's first home European Soccer Championship qualifier against Switzerland can be broadcast on terrestrial television next week.
The Minister for Communications, Mr Ahern, announced yesterday that the issue would be raised at a meeting today between senior FAI officials, the Taoiseach and the Ministers for Sport and Finance.
Minister Ahern was due to bring a list of sporting and cultural events to be designated for free-to-air transmission under the EU Television Without Frontiers Directive before Cabinet for approval yesterday. All home soccer internationals are on his list. However, Mr Ahern announced in the Dáil that he was deferring the designation process pending the outcome of today's meeting with the FAI.
The meeting was initially set up to discuss Stadium Ireland and the building of a national stadium. But the Sky soccer deal will now be added to the agenda.
Conceding that the designation procedure would not have been complete on time for next Wednesdays match even if he had brought the list to Cabinet yesterday, the Minister pledged it would be finalised on time for the second home game against Albania in Dublin next June.
"Whether the first home game on October 16th will be transmitted on free-to-air television was not within the remit of the Government. But over the last number of months we have made significant contact with all the interested parties with a view to ensuring that the first game would be televised on free-to-air." he told the Dáil.
"Unfortunately as of this moment those discussions, despite our exhortations, have not proved fruitful. We thought that perhaps as a gesture it would be free-to-air." He warned though that once designation was in place, the Government would act.
There was uproar earlier this year when it emerged that the FAI had sold the broadcasting rights for all of Ireland's home European Championship qualifying games to Sky Sports for €7.5 million.
Following the public furore, Sky indicated it might allow the game be shown on Sky One, which is accessed by 600,000 people in Ireland, and on free-to-air television.
But Sky has changed its mind and is now only broadcasting next week's game against Switzerland on Sky Sports, available only on subscription.
A spokesman for Sky told The Irish Times last night he had no comment to make. There was no indication yesterday that the FAI was going to back away from its contract with Sky.
In a statement it said the TV rights deal negotiated with Sky was an important factor in securing the future of the game in Ireland.
"The need for funding of the game at schoolboy, youth, under-age and senior levels is paramount and retention of all available funds including the TV rights income has become absolutely vital for the future development of the game," a spokesman said.
The onus is on the FAI to protect the game for the young people of Ireland participating every week up and down the country and this is significantly supported through finances raised through TV rights, he said.
"The access to TV rights revenues enables the association to continue to invest in the next generation of star players," he added.
