The FAI's board of management at the association's AGM in Athlone

A steady cohort of delegates trickled into the FAI's annual general meeting in Athlone on Saturday well past the designated start time of noon.

They needn't have worried about missing any action.

Aside from the formalities of speeches by various officers and departing finance director Tony Dignam, the majority of the time amounted to one glorious sales pitch.

Whether it was the association's national draw, season-tickets, or the newly launched 10-year premium tickets available at knockdown prices, the onus upon the football family to dig deep into their pockets for the greater good was foremost.

Even the FAI's textile sponsor was afforded a slot at pitching their wares to a captive audience of 130 delegates.

The lack of audience participation is a trend we've come to expect from recent annual gatherings.

Emergency general meetings are usually just that in most organisations, yet within the football sphere they're a yearly event to dispense with any potential rancour arising over rule changes.

SUMMIT

If delegates wished to question any aspect of the annual accounts amid the most financially challenging period in the history of the association, there was a requirement to submit those in writing seven days prior to the summit.

The purpose of this, according to the missive, was to facilitate the presentation of the fullest information possible to members.

No such queries were lodged, nor was an opportunity given to national media to question chief executive John Delaney or his fellow officers as the traditional post-AGM press conference wasn't held for the second successive year.

The sole question posed from the floor was left until the end. A Leinster Football Association legislator pleaded with the top table to award the hosting of the AGM to Dublin, which was shot down in the foreseeable future as the next three yearly summits will be in Sligo, Tipperary and Kilkenny.

"Maybe in 2050," quipped Delaney, who constantly cites AGMs under his stewardship as a contrast to a bygone era when they revolved around "a row over rule changes in Dublin".

What was indisputable from Saturday is the death of the infamous Vantage Club.

It may have been death by a thousand cuts but the 10-year premium ticket scheme, unfurled in a blaze of glory back in 2010, finally received its last rites.

Delaney forecasted the project, that pitched the tickets at between €12,000 and €32,000, as the panacea for their €74m bill towards the Lansdowne Road redevelopment costs.

Not content merely with that potential sum being covered, it was presented as the cash vehicle for prosperity.

"It makes us easily afford our capital commitment to the project," said the chief executive at the time.

"Then from 2016 onwards we get to see the real dividends from the way we've done our business model around the stadium.

"And I think the real net worth arises in 2020 when we resell these because that becomes a toll bridge and really a pension for the FAI at that stage."

If only. Gone is the Vantage and into its place has come 'Club Ireland', launched by Martin O'Neill and Roy Keane last week in Dublin.

Unlike its doomed predecessor, the latest venture offers tickets on the premium level in "wide-padded seats" at a flat rate of €4,933.

There's even a six-year sister package available for €3,333. In a buyer's market, the FAI can't afford to be choosy.

Latest accounts supply a reality check, confirming debts of €50m, most of which is not due to be paid off until at least 2019.

Toll bridges and pensions will have to wait. Progressing from an interest-only arrangement with their lenders must come first, as the FAI did not reveal to members or media in subsequent queries any deviation from that position.

"It's a bit like having a €200,000 mortgage and all of a sudden you got a windfall," Delaney told Midlands FM last week, in reference to the €11.7m debt writedown secured late last year.

"Do you clear the debt or do you spend it on any aspects of your family that you'd like to? We can clear the debt in 2020 if we want to."

The only problem with that analogy is that most homeowners don't operate interest-only on their mortgage unless cash-flow issues exist.

ELITE

Returning to football matters, Delaney announced that, beginning from September, an expansion of the Emerging Talent Programme will see FAI coaches working with elite gems as young as 10 years old at regional centres.

Another initiative to be unveiled in the autumn under the direction of high performance director Ruud Dokter is the Technical Development Plan, backboned with common game structures for all 32 schoolboy leagues across the country.

Recent history has taught us to be cautious about enacting a sea-change of this scale within the underage sector.

Some movement occurred amongst the top table as Paddy McCaul exited after four years as president to be replaced by Cork stalwart Tony Fitzgerald. The vice-presidency was assumed, unopposed, by Donal Conway of the FAI Schools.

No surprises there – in keeping with the rest of the annual get-together.

Questions for the FAI to answer

IN the absence of a press conference after the FAI's AGM, journalists put the following questions to the association. Up to the time of going to press, no answers had been received.

1 Is the Aviva Stadium mortgage still interest-only?

2 If so, when will capital start to be paid off?

3 Is the new lender charging a higher interest rate?

4 Has the CEO taken a pay cut since 2012?

5 Will there be more staff pay cuts/redundancies this year?

6 Is the FAI's contribution to the wages of its manager and assistant still 50pc?

7 Did the FAI receive €5m in compensation from FIFA after the World Cup play-off in 2009?

8 Will the association be debt-free on the Aviva Stadium by 2020?

9 Will Vantage Club holders get compensation to reflect the reduction in cost of 10-year premium level tickets?

10 Does the association regret the pricing structure of the Vantage Club?

11 What net profit did the FAI make in the last financial year?

12 Is Paul Doolin's contract as U-19 manager being renewed?

FAI Numbers Game

€74m FAI's share of the costs towards the Lansdowne Redevelopment project in 2010.

€50m FAI debt at the end of 2013.

€17m Cost of servicing the debt since 2010.

2020 Year the FAI declared they would be debt-free.

€10m Annual income from UEFA for centralised TV rights deal.

€32,000 Price of 10-year tickets launched for 2010 reopening of Lansdowne Road.

€4,933 Price of the 10-year tickets relaunched in 2014.

€360,000 Annual salary of FAI chief executive John Delaney, whose contract has been extended until 2020.

€315,500 Total prize fund for League of Ireland clubs in Premier Division and First Division.

10pc The salary cut for all FAI staff in 2012. That cut has not since been reversed.

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