SIPTU condemns FAI closure of youth training programme in Dundalk

SIPTU members employed by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) have condemned the organisation’s decision to close a youth training scheme run out of a centre in Oriel Park, Dundalk, County Louth. The closure will result in the loss of two community development officer roles and leaves 28 trainees without a programme which was due to commence next week.

SIPTU Sector Organiser, Robbie Purfield, said: “This move by the FAI is exactly what our members have been warning about. It is a case of the organisation pulling up the supports for grassroots football. It is perplexing to even see what the current management’s strategy is.

“This is the third such training centre to be closed in a manner that runs counter to the supposed strategy of the organisation to support grassroots football. It doesn’t make any economic sense either, as 95% of the cost of this scheme was funded by the local Education and Training Board. It was a social intervention scheme aimed at helping young people develop their footballing and educational skills.”

SIPTU Organiser, Hugh Kennedy, said: “This decision highlights the lack of meaningful engagement by the FAI with both staff and communities who depend on these programmes. The closure not only impacts workers but also undermines opportunities for young people in Dundalk and across the region.

“The move would also seem to be contradictory to the FAI’s recent education strategy 2025, which seeks to develop that live up to the aim of where there is football there is education and where there is education there is football. These trainees will have also turned down other opportunities to take courses or other educational programmes. It is highly disrespectful way to treat these young people and the FAI staff.”

He added: “Our members are also still awaiting the sight of the so-called FAI Transformation Plan, which includes a number of threatened redundancies. This represents a serious breakdown in trust and accountability in what is a mainly government funded body.”

SIPTU representatives confirmed that workers and Union organisers were to meet with the Chair of the Oireachtas Sports Committee, Alan Kelly TD, on Tuesday to discuss the current crises facing the FAI.