Women's international team threatening strike action

Zebra3

Some shocking stuff even by FAI standards coming out of the women's team's press conference this morning.

Having to share tracksuits with underage teams. Having to change in toilets at the airport to get into their travel gear as they don't have any of their own.

Looking for basic loss of earnings payment while on international duty.

All this while Delaney milks the FAI for a reported €360,000 a year plus expenses and is apparently in line for another €100,000 a year if he makes it in to some UEFA committee.

Top brass at the FAI need to be rooted out and no more government funding until it has been drastically changed.

brevity

Zebra3 wrote: »

Having to share tracksuits with underage teams. Having to change in toilets at the airport to get into their travel gear as they don't have any of their own.

That's unbelievable in this day and age.

nice_guy80

doesn't surprise me one bit

Awesomeness

Not surprising. They are a disgrace.

The_Kew_Tour

We really are laughing stock

Oat23

This is one of many things wrong with football here.

Not enough people care to force any meaningful change. They care too much about the mens team getting to a tournament every few years so they can get p*ssed with their friends for a few weeks.

The state of the women's setup, underage development and local league is of no importance to the majority.

GavRedKing

The FAI is an old boys club, no way anybody will want to upset the apple cart and go against Delaney, he or she wont gain any traction and will be shouted down.

I've no doubt theres much better and cheaper candidates available to do the job as theres no hope in hell Delaney can justify the money he claims every year.

I'm not one to take a particular interest in the women's game but not having adequate clothing supplies is just ridiculous. FFS it should be provided by sponsorship or whatever, it shouldn't even have anything to do with the ****ers who are cleaning up from "administration".

super_furry

The FAI and Delaney care nothing for any level of football in this country below the men's national team. From the 'problem child' of the league to making women on different teams share tracksuits, it's an annoyance to the FAI when all they want is their next business class trip to see the lads in UEFA and their huge expenses bills.

White Horse

Being put up in hotels without wifi. The horror of it.

ongarite

Didn't the US women's ice hockey team go public about something similar recently?

yabadabado

The FAI statement on this is outrageous.
Fair play to theme for standing up for themselves and going public with this.They are getting treated like ****.

Can't wait to hear the PFAI reply to FAI I'd say they will rip them to shreads.

Zebra3

White Horse wrote: »

Being put up in hotels without wifi. The horror of it.

Nice to be able to keep up with friends and family back home.

Do you think Delaney stays in a hotel without wifi?

I wonder what his per diem is when abroad with the FAI.....

LuckyLloyd

This is pretty bad, was completely unaware of issues like this existing. I assumed (I would think reasonably) that our Senior Women's team received adequate treatment and handling.

super_furry

Zebra3 wrote: »

Nice to be able to keep up with friends and family back home.

Not just that. These are people with jobs who are already missing significant time from those jobs for matches and training. Good wifi can be essential in keeping those jobs and having the ability to check in and do a few hours work while they're away representing their country.

yabadabado

Zebra3 wrote: »

Nice to be able to keep up with friends and family back home.

Do you think Delaney stays in a hotel without wifi?

I wonder what his per diem is when abroad with the FAI.....

No idea what his FAI per diem is and as they are a bit of a closed shop we will probably never know.

If JD get this UEFA job tomorrow it's €300 per day plus he will also get an extra wage.

Sickening *****

LuckyLloyd

White Horse wrote: »

Being put up in hotels without wifi. The horror of it.

Hmm

I think it reasonable to expect that we send our Women's Senior Team away to comfortable high quality hotels given that they are sacrificing their time to represent their country for little or no financial compensation or reward. Do we not want to win or give ourselves every opportunity within our power of winning? Is there not supposed to be pride in the green jersey worn by all Irish teams?

It took Roy Keane and Saipan to force a significant change of attitude to the Men's team. Fair play to the Senior Women's players for taking a stand here.

Hercule Poirot

So these women are willing to represent our country and in return the FAI treats them as peasants? Absolutely shocking state of affairs

kfallon

Disgraceful but the worst part is that it's not shocking, we expect this kind of shít from the FAI.

Fúck it, I'll take the ban so I'll say it, John Delaney and his cronies are nothing but a bunch of fúcking cúnts. There I said it, we're all thinking it.

See ye at the end of my ban!

El Weirdo

kfallon wrote: »

Disgraceful but the worst part is that it's not shocking, we expect this kind of shít from the FAI.

Fúck it, I'll take the ban so I'll say it, John Delaney and his cronies are nothing but a bunch of fúcking cúnts. There I said it, we're all thinking it.

See ye at the end of my ban!

I'm Spartacus!

John Delaney and his cronies are nothing but a bunch of fucking cunts.

Mars Bar

Lads, even I didn't realise it was this bad.

batistuta9

Not sure what's worse, the tracksuits or goalkeeping coach

yabadabado

kfallon wrote: »

Disgraceful but the worst part is that it's not shocking, we expect this kind of shít from the FAI.

Fúck it, I'll take the ban so I'll say it, John Delaney and his cronies are nothing but a bunch of fúcking cúnts. There I said it, we're all thinking it.

See ye at the end of my ban!

Post of the year .

Mars Bar

I'm seeing this being labelled the WNT's Saipan moment. Hopefully it's effective.

jebidiah

The_Kew_Tour wrote: »

We really are laughing stock

Women's sports teams the world over are paid and treated worse than men's. It is a sad fact and needs to change.

The USA Women's soccer team for example. They are paid a fraction of what the men are, and yet have won a heap of gold medals in the past few years.

There are arguments based on the amount of money both teams generate, as well as the mens team players having different contracts etc. But it shouldn't be the case. At the end of the day, they are at the very least doing the same job, and then having more or less success as each other. They should be paid an equal amount at a minimum, and more based on performances etc.

yabadabado

Our women's team can't even get a track suit never mind an equal footing with mens team.

When you look at their list of "demands" it should be very embarrassing for FAI.They are getting treated like **** yet instead of FAI taking the blame and try to rectify it they have come out with a statement that is a mockery to all those players.

D0NNELLY

batistuta9 wrote: »

Not sure what's worse, the tracksuits or goalkeeping coach

That's not a list of demands, it's just common sense.

They should start their own go fund me page and fück Delaney

D0NNELLY

I wonder will Shane Ross pull the usual FG line.. 'can't do anything, up to the parties involved to come to a settlement'

Hercule Poirot

D0NNELLY wrote: »

That's not a list of demands, it's just common sense.

They should start their own go fund me page and fück Delaney

Could we actually do that? Is it difficult to do?

GLaDOS

The FAI would love if someone else picked up the tab for them

D0NNELLY

GLaDOS wrote: »

The FAI would love if someone else picked up the tab for them

But the government would be embarrassed into action.

D0NNELLY

Hercule Poirot wrote: »

Could we actually do that? Is it difficult to do?

Couldn't be easier.

https://www.gofundme.com/tour

PhilipsR

D0NNELLY wrote: »

But the government would be embarrassed into action.

Take your agenda elsewhere.

batistuta9

PhilipsR wrote: »

Take your agenda elsewhere.

What's this about?

D0NNELLY

PhilipsR wrote: »

Take your agenda elsewhere.

Ive no agenda! Never voted in my life all i was saying is we'll be a while waiting for Delaney to do anything!!!

D0NNELLY

batistuta9 wrote: »

What's this about?

Think he thought i don't like the government..

Arghus

Pretty disgraceful stuff from the FAI. What's worse is that none of us seem surprised.

Makes me think of a recent enough episode of second captains in which they analysed John Delaney deigning to attend a Dail sub-committee. The audio of the fawning bootlicking from some of the assembled gombeen TDs was nauseating. One of them started his questions by stating that there were no grounds from criticism. Ireland makes you sick sometimes.

Ferris_Bueller

Shocking stuff from the FAI. You would think the "issues to be addressed" would be the bare minimum for all international teams representing the country. If this is the senior womens team imagine how badly the underage womens teams are treated! That really shows how highly the FAI prioritise the womens game.

Mars Bar

Ferris_Bueller wrote: »

Shocking stuff from the FAI. You would think the "issues to be addressed" would be the bare minimum for all international teams representing the country. If this is the senior womens team imagine how badly the underage womens teams are treated! That really shows how highly the FAI prioritise the womens game.

Not just the women's team but the Deaf team, the Blind team, the Paralympic team and the Cerebral Palsy team.

kfallon

Mars Bar wrote: »

Not just the women's team but the Deaf team, the Blind team, the Paralympic team and the Cerebral Palsy team.

I would hazard a guess it's probably most teams with the exception of the senior men's team.

Even the last time we made it to the World Cup look at the shambles with the training kit and facilities.

batistuta9

I'm pretty sure kilbane just said the trackies thing is the same in the men's on newstalk now

+ €300 is about 10% of men's fee

RGDATA!

White Horse wrote: »

Being put up in hotels without wifi. The horror of it.

Given that players are required to spend a lot of time in their hotels, and that nearly any half-decent hotel (in Europe at least) will have wi-fi, it seems a reasonable expectation.

In any case there are several "more serious" complaints on the list that point to a lack of respect and proper funding, so to single this one out to have a pop at the women seems a bit grumpy.

I fully support them anyway.

Zebra3

batistuta9 wrote: »

I'm pretty sure kilbane just said the trackies thing is the same in the men's on newstalk now

+ €300 is about 10% of men's fee

And the men certainly don't need the fee.

If any players should be representing Ireland for free, it's the millionaires of the men's senior team.

yabadabado

Why won't the FAI meet with the PFAI?
A bizarre and typically moronic attitude that seems to be the norm with the FAI.

I'd say the best thing would be if the game was cancelled just to get maximum coverage of what is a disgraceful set up.

Edit :I forgot to mention I think FAI and PFAI share office space so it's not like they couldn't do a deal behind closed doors.Bizarre

This is very poor from the FAI, but why is it not that surprising? It would be nice to think though that no matter how bad things are, when you get to senior international level the days of getting changed in the jax are behind you.

It's a rotten organisation where any progress which has been made, has mostly been done in spite of those running the show.

There are many people in both urban and rural Ireland giving up their own time to help Irish football at grassroots level. I'm not one of them, but I know some.

One of the lads in particular has put in a lot of hours for a local club who up until a few years ago had only one senior men's team competing in the local league. They had one playing pitch and one training pitch, though you could hardly tell the difference between the two only for the training pitch having quite an increment towards one end of it.

Now though, over some years and after a lot of non-billable hours put in by this person and some other club volunteers, the club have developed a whole range of underage boys teams, plus two underage girls teams. They run a few camps in the Summer for them also. They have a large, equipped astro-turf area which can be sectioned off for smaller games or training. The main pitch was leveled and resown, it doesn't have what you'd call a stand, but a nice sheltered area. They've also developed a few grass pitches in the land around it. During the season, you could go up there on a mid-week evening and it would be a hive of activity with several matches going on at different age levels. This is in a rural area with a strong GAA club and an area which also saw a rise in those looking to play rugby.

I don't know for sure, but maybe this club received some level of a grant from the FAI. However, I do know that what this club has become would not be possible without the work of a few key volunteers. It's not even about doing it for your own kids, my friend here doesn't have any yet, just a passion for the game. Left as it was though and without a bit of initiative and self sacrifice, the 'club' would still be 22 men kicking a ball around a country field of a Sunday morning. Now though, there are over 100 kids actively involved in the club. Will any of them go on to earn megabucks in the big leagues or even have a professional career in the game? Maybe not, but now they have a chance which previously wasn't there.

I'm sure these volunteers like my friend aren't a rare occurrence, and some of you reading this might be familiar with similar stories of clubs and people in your area.

Anyway, my point here is that while good people are going around doing the hard work at grassroots level and doing it for free, while the international womens team are getting changed in the airport toilets and have no loss of earnings reimbursed, there are people at the top getting paid extremely well along with a generous expense account for overseeing a broken organisation. One which would be even more broken but for the people like the members of the Irish international women's team and those volunteers at grassroots level.

Right, in this size of a country we have to be realistic. The FAI are never going to have the money to invest in every local team and make the kind of investment which would see Ireland become a regular Top 10 team after 10-15 years. That said, the way the money is currently spent and appropriated is ridiculous.

For example: That 'International Brand Expert' the FAI hired a few months ago to basically say the boss was doing a great job. He wasn't cheap. He quotes eur7,000 for speeches, you'd have to imagine a brand overview would be more project-like and therefore command a higher fee.

They may as well have burned the money. No harm to the 'Expert' who got the gig, but it was highly unnecessary and a complete waste of what was likely over eur10,000. Live FAI scores displayed at bus stops, bus stops which can barely display their own bus times? Interactive EA games at half time in the matches on giant screens, in stadiums which have no screens?

Would that eur10,000 not have been better spent on a few of the things for the women's team like nutritional advice, some gym memberships, some tracksuits, any of the few things on their list? Sure it would, everyone else knows this but those who unfortunately matter and sign the cheques.

At the time of the 'International Brand Expert', this row would have already been brewing between the women and the FAI. I can only imagine the slap on the face that felt like for them. They couldn't get tracksuits, this brand expert likely had all-expenses covered never mind his high rate.

These international competitors are not looking for much. In fact, any executive worth his/her salt should be able to get the likes of tracksuits for the squad, ones they can hold on to, for free or for very little cost through some kind of sponsorship or even a favour through connections. Right, I know John Delaney isn't Emilio Estevez and the women's team aren't the Mighty Ducks, but tracksuits along with most of the things on the women's list should be a given for the athletes' status. Some items even come down to a matter of basic dignity.

So much of the money paid to under-performing executives rather than invested in the game or awarded to teams and personnel. eur110k for winning the LOI? That's a joke, especially with the organistion's executive salaries.

"We have to offer these kind of salaries and packages to attract skilled candidates" - My hole. The FAI has been nothing but a gravy train for John Delaney for an era at this stage. He has a stranglehold over the position and and the only person he is doing a good job for is himself. eur360k a year to run football in Ireland and answer to no one or face any kind of job appraisal/review? Nice job if you can get it in fairness. The fact that no one else can is part of the problem.

Because of the public attention, the women will rightfully get their requirements here. As long as the FAI remains as it currently is though, none of these kind of revelations/failings will stop, or be very surprising when brought to light.

Francie Barrett

Surely the sponsors who make the damn garments should be supplying enough bloody tracksuits for all Irish players from underage, women, to senior men?

Mars Bar

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Surely the sponsors who make the damn garments should be supplying enough bloody tracksuits for all Irish players from underage, women, to senior men?

It's madness. I coach on the summer camps so I have new gear from it every year. I did a year in the FAI/ETB course and I got more than enough tracksuits and training gear to last the year. I have FAI gear coming out my arse! It's crazy that the women representing us on the top level don't even get that.

yabadabado

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Surely the sponsors who make the damn garments should be supplying enough bloody tracksuits for all Irish players from underage, women, to senior men?

You would think whoever negotiates the deal would make that stipulation but FAI arent exactly forward thinkers.
The supply of kit etc seems dodgy to me as well but that's not really something that can be discussed here .

Zebra3

Francie Barrett wrote: »

Surely the sponsors who make the damn garments should be supplying enough bloody tracksuits for all Irish players from underage, women, to senior men?

It is the responsibility of the FAI to make the correct provisions for everything connected to the women's international team. After all, it's their team. Not Umbro's, or anyone else's.

Van.Bosch

Would hope a few of the Irish senior team would get involved and support them.

jebidiah

jebidiah wrote: »

Women's sports teams the world over are paid and treated worse than men's. It is a sad fact and needs to change.

The USA Women's soccer team for example. They are paid a fraction of what the men are, and yet have won a heap of gold medals in the past few years.

There are arguments based on the amount of money both teams generate, as well as the mens team players having different contracts etc. But it shouldn't be the case. At the end of the day, they are at the very least doing the same job, and then having more or less success as each other. They should be paid an equal amount at a minimum, and more based on performances etc.

If that happened you'd see an awful lot of former male underage players turning up and dominating the women's game.