Barring major upheaval from the FAI board, Stephen Kenny will remain as Ireland manager for the remainder of the European Championships qualification campaign.
Kenny’s short-term job security was the clearest message the association’s chief executive Jonathan Hill delivered across two hours of media interviews on Thursday morning.
“We want to qualify for major tournaments, the public want it, the FAI want it and football in Ireland needs it,” said Hill. “So we are, of course, disappointed to have lost the last two games [against France and the Netherlands] and this will be discussed at the next FAI board meeting [on September 26th], as we review all international windows as normal.”
‘Active involvement’
Ireland face Greece and Gibraltar in October before their final Euros qualifier against the Netherlands in Amsterdam on November 18th.
After losing four of five games in Group B, Kenny’s last match in charge could be the friendly against New Zealand at the Aviva stadium on November 21st.
“Stephen has a contract, an existing contract, and we are honouring that, and we are going through to the end of the November process,” Hill explained. “While we might not have achieved the results we would have hoped for during this campaign, with qualification for the tournament set as a goal at the outset, I know the manager and players are fully focused on the remaining matches this year, and they will prepare for, and deliver, those games accordingly. Once these matches are played, we will then conduct an in-depth review of the campaign in its entirety, and the board will then meet to consider this review and next steps.”
The FAI board convenes on the last Tuesday of every month. In August, the 11-strong group of seven men and four women, chaired by Roy Barrett, agreed not to offer former Ireland women’s coach Vera Pauw a two-year contract extension.
Kenny’s situation is different, however, as he is under contract until the end of “active involvement” in the “qualification process,” Hill clarified.
If Ireland fail to reach a Euros play-offs in March, the 51-year-old is effectively out of contract. Kenny has been Ireland manager since April 2020, winning 10, drawing 10 and losing 16 of 36 games in charge.
“If the board felt they wanted to take a different route then we would discuss that different route,” Hill added. “The board will discuss this in September. I will give my report as chief executive, we will have a broader review and discussion on all of these issues. We will await to see, as we always do in those meetings, to see what comes out of it. But the opportunity is there for all of the board members to give their view.”
The FAI decision to support Kenny for the rest of the current campaign ensures that director of football Marc Canham will not be forced into conducting two managerial recruitment processes at the same time.
Canham is seeking a long-term replacement for Pauw as Eileen Gleeson guides the women’s team through this month’s Nations League ties against Northern Ireland and Hungary.
Brand awareness
With further managerial upheaval avoided, the focus switches to the FAI’s search to find a primary sponsor for the men’s team.
“Yes, I do believe that there is a brand and a company out there who would want to align themselves and be part of that type of environment and atmosphere,” said Hill. “The simple fact is that we have to find that brand, they have to be willing to invest in what we believe is a fair price for that sponsorship. I don’t believe the price is too high. The price we go into the market with is one that is backed up with data which is related to audience.”
On the increasing chance of the joint UK and Ireland bid to host Euro 2028 proving successful when Uefa makes its final decision on October 10th, Hill revealed that his preference would be for all five nations to have to qualify, so long as two automatic slots remain open in case Ireland, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales or even England fall short.
The Aviva stadium would host six matches at the 2028 European Championships.
