Involvement with football club dates back to 2006
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Wednesday January 20 2010
THE history of Fingal County Council's involvement with Sporting Fingal goes back to 2006 when the idea was mooted publicly for the first time at a council meeting where a presentation was made on the development of soccer in Fingal. A component of that policy presentation was to explore the possibility of the creation of a League of Ireland football team to represent the entire county of Fingal.
In 2007, the council responded to a call from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for applications from football clubs to enter the National League competition.
The FAI had set a target to widen the League by introducing an entry level A Division - below the existing Premier - for developing sides and with a particular invitation to those parts of the country without representation at senior level. According to the council, the FAI conditions for such clubs 'were and are stringent', with the aim of ensuring a more firm foundation for the financial affairs of Irish amateur and professional football. The FAI placed
a special emphasis on community-focussed clubs, in the interest of sustainability of the domestic game. In the event, the application, made solely by the council, was successful, resulting in an invitation to accept a place in the A Division.
With the licence for the A Division in hand, the club structure had to be established requiring a strong and experienced football manager, a home ground and the prospect of sound financial backing.
Recounting the early days of the club's development, the council said: 'We had the services of Liam Buckley to advise on the football aspects of the venture, from his previous experience as a Premier Division Manager.'
Parallel to the preparation of the club licence application, the council published a call for expressions of interest to find suitable funding and sponsorship partners. Part of this search was to find an owner or owners willing to invest in the enterprise and part was to find suitable sponsors.
The council said: 'By the end of the process, negotiations with several interested parties concluded without commitment, for differing reasons, and one party remained who was prepared to commit to the conditions and undertake to financially support the club - Gerry Gannon who now is the majority shareholder with Fingal County Council as the minority shareholder, as previously outlined. 'Mr Gannon's response was influenced by his stated enthusiasm for the ideals and ambitions of the project.'
- John MANNING
