The FAI General Assembly voted against the addition of two more female candidates to their Board of Directors at their emergency general meeting (EGM) last night.
The constitutional change was proposed in line with Sport Ireland’s gender quota directive, which expects National Governing Bodies to have 40% female gender representation by the end of the year, or they may face cuts in funding.
A 75% majority was needed to pass the motion which would have extended the board to a 14 person grouping, although it failed to reach that target, with reports suggesting only 66% voted in favour of the change.
Motion at FAI EGM to increase board to 14 members with a 7-7 independent/football elected director split - in order to meet gender balance requirements laid down by government for funding purposes - has failed to get the 75pc of votes it needed to pass. Only hit 66pc.
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) November 9, 2023
It puts €4.35 million of government funding at risk should they fail to meet the outlined quota by the end of 2023.
In a statement the FAI confirmed the outcome of the vote, citing that they will “now reflect on the decision, work through the next steps, and have a revised position for the General Assembly to review at the December 9th AGM.”
“It remains the FAI’s firm position to achieve the required 40% female representation on the Board,” they added.
From what I'm hearing, the main people speaking against it were from the amateur side of the game who want to 'take back control' - some people love the palace intrigue of this stuff but there's nothing good about it
— Daniel McDonnell (@McDonnellDan) November 9, 2023
A follow up EGM is now scheduled for the 2nd of December, a week before their AGM on 9th of December, having already been delayed from the 21st of October in order to facilitate yesterday’s meeting.
Should the proposal have passed it would have seen a 7-7 split amongst the board members, containing a mix of people already involved in football, as well as independent directors.
Last night’s AGM was FAI chairman Roy Barrett’s last act in the position, having announced he was stepping away in January of this year to “a clear opportunity for the Board, to ensure that at least 40 per cent of the Directors are female by the end of 2023.”
It remains to be seen what will arise from the follow up AGM in the scramble to meet Sport Ireland's projected target within that time period.
We would also like to extend our thanks to Roy Barrett, who helped bring stability to the @FAIreland at a critical time. We acknowledge the progress on FAI reforms that were made under Roy’s leadership, and the opportunity for better gender-balance that this decision brings. https://t.co/0seVZ6OQk8
— Sport Ireland (@sportireland) January 12, 2023
