Irish football is being told to prepare for a "bomb" when the FAI's accounts are presented today, with debts of over €50million expected to be revealed.

The association's former CEO, Bernard O'Byrne, has warned that possible new sponsors will stay away from a "toxic" FAI until more changes are made at board level.

His comments were made in the wake of an announcement by main sponsors Three that they are cutting ties with the football body next year.

"I can see sponsors using the 40-foot pole to stay away until things improve," O'Byrne told Independent.ie. "It is a hugely damaged brand but it could turn around quickly if they get four independent directors.

"But the people from the old regime - and some of them I consider as friends - just have to go. There's no need for them to be around now to hand over a succession plan. They need to go.

"The FAI can come out of it. They have to. As a contributor to Irish society, they have to be rescued. But not at any cost."

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A press conference to publish the 2018 and 2017 accounts was scheduled to go ahead at 12.0 today but was delayed for another hour to 1.0pm.

Auditors Deloitte were last night still pouring over certain items.

Deloitte will have to rubberstamp the FAI's annual accounts this morning for a press conference to proceed. The publication of the 2018 financial statements have been delayed several times since the routine deadline of the AGM in July was missed.

Former CEO John Delaney said before last year's AGM that the FAI had reduced their debt from €70m to €30m and were on course to be "debt-free" by 2020.

However, the accounts presented by president Donal Conway and Paul Cooke, who has taken up the post of executive lead, will be grim, with predictions of debts totalling more than €50m.

"The accounts really will shock people, it will be like a bomb going off in Irish football," one board member said last night. "We're at a very low point but we have to try and climb our way back up."

FAI staff, who attended the organisation's Christmas party last night, have been told that there will be "consequences" for employees in the new year as the impact of the debts, and the predicted job cuts and pay cuts, take hold.

Irish Independent