The financial windfall reserved for the sixteen qualifiers for the 2004 European Championships has been seen as an undoubted blow to the FAI's aspirations, but CEO Fran Rooney maintained last night that the FAI had factored the possibility of non-qualification into their budgets.
'Not reaching the finals gives us the opportunity of looking at all aspects of our commercial activities to put a new platform in place. We have got a lot of work to do in terms of the corporate side of the business,' said Rooney.
Another headache for Rooney and his suited loonies is the fact that the FIFA derogation on bucket seats at Lansdowne Road now comes into effect. Meaning that the official capacity for all competitive internationals played at the Dublin 4 venue is just 22,000. They, or more pertinantly the Irish government have less than twelve months to do something before the qualification games for the 2006 World Cup begin.
'We are concerned about the lack of urgency in making the decision on the new stadium,' Rooney stated.
'It's not just about the stadium, but our new headquarters, the national coaching centre, regional coaching centres and the technical development plan.'
'The FAI chief insisted that the Government had a moral responsibility to deliver on their promises. 'Realistically the Government cannot say no to the stadium after the expectations they have created over time,' he added.
Reports that the association had approached both Croke Park and Old Trafford were strenuously denied.
who denied that the FAI had already approached Old Trafford or Croke Park about playing there