David Courell, the acting CEO of FAI, has acknowledged that due to a “loophole”, thorough financial scrutiny was not conducted when Brian Ainscough, a businessman from Boston, acquired Dundalk FC last December. In the wake of this, Ainscough is grappling with difficulties in paying wages to players and staff, as he failed to secure significant investment for Dundalk. This prompted the 1903 supporters’ club to crowdsource €19,000 via GoFundMe to manage the costs of match-day.
At the FAI AGM on Saturday, Courell declared “A licence for the club was issued in November 2023. After this, the club changed ownership in December 2023. This led to financial verification on the former proprietors. We will learn from this incident and this loophole will be sealed for any future transfers of ownership.
There are numerous leagues in other countries that lack the same stringent procedures for club transfers. We will improve on this.”
However, Courell dismissed any possibility of FAI stepping in to support Dundalk’s operational costs till the end of the premier division season. “Dundalk is a privately-owned entity. Its autonomy needs to be preserved. We’re endeavouring to help with whatever means possible during this tough period, but there is a limit to our intervention.”
The members of the 1903 fan club have confirmed that their fund raising efforts are solely aimed to assist the ‘match expenses’ and it will “not be transferred to the club or its owner”.
Stephen McGuinness, the general secretary of Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland warned that Dundalk could risk closure in the forthcoming weeks. He said: “The issue is highly severe. While some harbour hope for a solution, I don’t see one imminent. As things stand, there’s no wage provision for the players next week. The horse has bolted.”
McGuinness has advocated for an impartial investigation into the swift financial downfall of Dundalk. Despite making it to the group stages of the Europa League in the 2022/21 season, Jon Daly’s team now finds themselves at the foot of the table with just six matches left to play.