Poaching row threatens future of juvenile soccer in Galway

The future of organised juvenile soccer in Galway is believed to be under serious threat after the FAI threw out plans for a proposed a rule, backed by an overwhelming majority of local clubs, to curb the ‘poaching’ of young players in Galway.

The Connacht Tribune understands that unless the FAI rows back on its decision to reject the proposed rule change, and thereby treat the game in Galway on a par with how other leagues around the country are run, clubs are set to refuse to fulfil fixtures when the 2014/15 season begins in September.

An EGM of clubs affiliated to the Galway FA held in June last year voted overwhelmingly to introduce an inducement rule to the Galway FA rulebook which would mean that clubs could sign a maximum of two players from the representative District League sides from U-12 up to U-16 in any one year.

As a result of being passed at the EGM, the proposed new rule was then brought to the AGM of the Galway FA in July where it was again passed and ratified, along with other rule changes, to form a new rulebook for the Galway FA, but this was rejected at the time by the FAI.

The proposed new rulebook – containing the inducement rule – was again sent to the FAI in March, but it has now come to light that the FAI rejected the introduction of the proposed inducement rule once again, after it voted at its own EGM in September to ban such rules being implemented – 14 weeks after it received notice of plans to introduce such a rule in Galway.

“We are very disappointed with this news – our EGM in June and July both proposed, and passed, this new rule, which was then sent to the FAI but it voted in September to bar such rules being introduced.

“It seems to us to be a very retrospective rule, and ignores the fact that at least 20 district leagues around the country have an inducement in their own rulebooks,” a spokesperson for one club said.

See full story in this week’s Connacht Tribune.