Delaney says ‘one club’ plan for Galway is still on track

Plans remain “firmly on track” to have a single Galway side compete in the 2014 League of Ireland season, according to the CEO of the FAI, John Delaney, who confirmed he will travel to the city later this month to continue discussions on the matter.

Speaking before the FAI’s eve of AGM dinner in Arklow on Friday night, Delaney said he was happy with how the matter was progressing, and while he was giving little away as to how advanced the talks are, he said he was happy with the progress made and was confident the matter will be resolved in plenty of time for the start of the new season in March 2014.

“The talks are going well, I have to say all the parties involved are working well together in relation to having one strong team from Galway in the league next year. There is still work to be done, and I will be down in Galway for a few days later this month, there isn’t much more to say on the matter yet but I want to pay tribute to the work being done by all involved,” he said.

Delaney also made reference to the ‘Galway situation’ in his official address to delegates at the AGM the following day, saying that “throughout the year, there has been much work to find a solution for Galway senior football”.

“Having been to Galway working with the parties on many occasions, I am pleased to report that we are on track for the return of a single Galway club to the Airtricity League next season.

“With a senior women’s team from Galway set top join the Bus Éireann Women’s National League, and the expected re-establishment of a Connacht Senior League, I would like to thanks Mervue United, the Galway United Supporters Trust, the Galway FA, the Connacht FA and Salthill Devon for their progress to date,” he said.

A planned press conference to be held after the AGM was cancelled by the FAI, and he would be drawn no further on the matter, but one delegate at the pre-AGM dinner on Friday night confirmed that talks were progressing on a single Galway club for next season, and as a result, both Mervue United and Salthill Devon would drop out of the league.

One of the main hurdles needed to be cleared in order to ensure a smooth transition to a single club is the re-establishment of the Connacht Senior League, with the delegate saying it was crucial to have a regional senior league for the two clubs to drop down to.

For more, read this week’s Connacht Sentinel.