Irish Football Association to hold review after Kennedy resignation

By Duncan Mackay
British Sports Internet Writer of the Year

July 7 – A review into the Irish Football Association (IFA) has been announced by chief executive Patrick Nelson following the controversial resignation of President Raymond Kennedy and his deputy David Martin.

The review will focus on the IFA’s governance, decision-making and structure, said Nelson, who replaced Howard Wells, whose unfair dismissal in October 2008 has sparked the crisis that is threatening to rip the sport apart in Northern Ireland.

Nelson said: ”All organisations should evolve and adapt to challenges and we are no different in that respect.

“We have to improve and do things better.

“I firmly believe we are still doing tremendous work and that work will continue.

“But we are never complacent.

“We have to do things better tomorrow.

“This report can be a catalyst for change and the new structures in the IFA, arising out of a review, can only benefit the organisation.

“It’s important to remember that the IFA is doing a lot of good work and that has been the case for 130 years for all football including at international, domestic and grassroots level.

“We should not forget that as the schools have just broken up for summer we have 30 primary school coaches working with 14,000 kids every week teaching them various skills and the importance of sport and its health benefits.

“These things often get overlooked but the work is doing a tremendous amount of good.

“I’m 50-years-old and over 32 years I have worked for many organisations.

“I have experienced a lot of different issues but the key is always to learn from these experiences and make better decisions in the future.”

Kennedy and Martin were forced to resign following a Government-ordered sport, carried out by Sport Northern Ireland, which was critical of their role in the dismissal of Wells, which cost the IFA £516,000 ($766,000) in compensation and legal fees.

Nelson said: ”We received the report last week and studied it.

“We co-operated fully with the production of it and I, along with the Executive Board, have had a chance to read it.

“There are certainly lessons to be learned as a result of it.

“We are very aware of the feelings of the Sports Minister [Nelson McCausland] and it is our intention to start an open review of our governance, structure and decision making processes.

“Lessons will be learned and the conclusions of the open review will have to drive change.

But Kennedy only stood down after he negotiated a package which means he will be able to retain his influential positions on FIFA and UEFA.

Nelson said: ”Raymond has represented us on UEFA and FIFA matters and he has around 30 years solid football administration experience.

“He has represented the IFA and Northern Ireland as a country well in this sphere and hopefully he still has a lot more to give in the light of that expertise and experience.

“Raymond and David took a personal decision and I respect their decisions.”

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