FAI hoping the price is right

Soccer reaction: The FAI gave a clear indication over the weekend that their officials anticipate some tough negotiations with the GAA's Central Council before any deal is struck that would allow the national football team to play games at Croke Park.

Having steadfastly avoided becoming involved in the debate over Rule 42 before Saturday's vote, the association's officers, and Republic of Ireland manager Brian Kerr, maintained a low profile in its wake yesterday. A statement containing a cautious and qualified welcome for the result was the sum total of the official response.

"As we co-ordinate and plan our games schedule for 2007, during the course of the next 18 months," read the unattributed press release from Merrion Square, "we will investigate all venue options available to us. When we require to commit to specific venues for these matches, we will have evaluated all aspects of the venue decision, including footballing, logistical and commercial issues.

"The FAI welcomes the decision of the GAA to enable the consideration of Croke Park's availability to other sports through its Central Council in certain circumstances. While decisions relating to our home games due to take place when Lansdowne Road is under redevelopment are some way off, we welcome the fact that Croke Park may become available at that time."

The tone of the statement might have been much more positive had the FAI not become alarmed by some of the figures bandied about during Saturday's debate.

There is, in particular, concern that expectations within the GAA may have been raised unrealistically by the suggestion that each rugby or football international played at the venue could be worth €2 million to the stadium's owners.

The figure is roughly 10 times what is paid to the IRFU for renting Lansdowne Road at present and would only be a remotely achievable figure for the biggest of competitive games - perhaps one or two a year.

The capacity of the stadium would be around 67,500 (Hill 16 could not be used as a terrace under Fifa rules) for competitive matches, and as long as the Irish team remained in the hunt to qualify from their group meetings with their main rivals would be expected to sell out.

However, games against group minnows would be extremely unlikely to fill a venue which the GAA have said is worth opening only when more than 30,000 paying customers are in attendance.

In recent years the FAI have staged an average of seven home internationals each year, and if the cost of staging those in Dublin was really to come even close to €14 million, around two thirds of the organisation's turnover for last year, then there is little doubt that the association would still be forced to look at staging matches in England or Scotland - a potentially humiliating move after the historic decision by Congress at the weekend.

Aside from the financial concerns, however, there is also talk within the FAI that there are other factors that might count against using Croke Park as a temporary home for the Irish team. These include the lack of floodlights, the potential for problems with local residents in the event that a dozen more matches are added to the venue's calendar and the size of the venue, which would be seen as out of proportion for all but the most attractive of friendly games.

Such concerns would appear to represent little more at this stage than the establishment of an opening position for preliminary talks that could take place over the next few months.

The reality is, however, that those negotiations could prove genuinely difficult, with Central Council members under pressure to make the sacrifice of principle made on Saturday worth the GAA's while and FAI officials simply not in a position to write the sort of cheques - even allowing for the increased revenue that would be generated from staging big games at the ground - which some at Saturday's meeting might be expecting.

In the circumstances, one suspects, the Government may yet have to apply a little more gentle pressure before a deal is finally done.