Former Mayo TD appointed director of the League of Ireland

Former government minister and Mayo TD Michael Ring has been appointed to the League of Ireland's board of directors.

Mr. Ring, who has a lifelong interest in soccer and played with Westport United in his youth, retired from public life ahead of last November's general election after long and dedicated service.

The FAI committee is chaired since 2021 by another former minister, Dermot Ahern, and it oversees the running of the League of Ireland, both male and female.

It consists of club representatives, FAI board directors and independent members proposed by the board, including Mr. Ring.

According to national media reports, it is hoped his involvement will help break the deadlock on Government funding of the academy system.

Last year, Ring was instrumental in setting up a meeting hosted by his Fine Gael colleague Paschal Donohoe, where an FAI delegation outlined the case for state aid to the Minister for Public Expenditure.

That plea for €8 million in annual grants was lodged late last year but since the general election and change of government, new Minister Patrick O’Donovan has ruled out any monies being forthcoming.

The stance, the Irish Examiner reports, has triggered alarm among the national clubs desperate to subsidise the coaches and facilities necessary to instigate a development system acutely lacking in the post Brexit era.