GENESIS

1

FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION OF IRELAND Preparation and
Planning for the 2002 FIFA World Cup
Evaluation Review

• Presentation
• by
• GENESIS
• Strategic Management Consultants
• 12 November 2002

2
Overall Aims

• To examine the performance and role of the FAI in
  all operational matters in the preparation and
  support of the Irish team at the 2002 FIFA World
  Cup
• To consider the appropriateness and effectiveness
  of these procedures and arrangements against
  other similar international comparators
• To examine how the Senior Irish team fits into
  FAI structures
• In the light of the above to recommend a strategy
  for the FAI to devise suitable policies to
  achieve greater and consistent success during the
  forthcoming UEFA European Championship and
  subsequent World Cup campaigns

3
In detail

• Review planning which the FAI carried out for the
  2002 FIFA World Cup, especially from the end of
  qualifying in November 2001
• Assess quality of the plans for preparation for
  this Tournament
• Review the events which occurred during the
  acclimatisation and Training Camps immediately
  prior to the FIFA World Cup
• Gather the views of stakeholders in the Irish
  international teams
• Review the effectiveness of the FAI structures
  and staff in support of the International Teams,
  especially for a World Cup
• Assess the effectiveness of the FAIs media
  relations and the management of their public
  relations
• Review management processes and procedures
  deployed by the FAI

4
Our Approach

• Data review and analysis
• Interviews (88 in total)
• 27 interviews
• Team Management, Coaches, Management,
  Administrators
• 1 declined to be formally interviewed
• FAI staff and voluntary leadership
• 4 Interviews with Irish Sports Council,
  Department of Tourism, Culture and Sport
• 18 interviews with journalists/media
  correspondents in Ireland and England
• 9 Interviews with other stakeholders
• Attendance at Eircom League matches
• Interviews with Players
• 23 invitations issued 14 inputs received
• 6 interviews with Premiership Club managers in
  England
• Comparator analysis
• Other national football associations - Sweden,
  Denmark, Belgium and England
• Peak Performing Organisations - comparison for
  FAI with research e.g. New Zealand All Blacks,
  Netherlands Hockey, Rugby Football League

5
Irelands International Achievements

• In recent years Ireland have achieved
• 1990 World Cup (Italy) - 8th - with 4 draws
• 1992 European Nations Cup - did not qualify -
  behind England in Group 7
• 1994 World Cup (USA) - qualified for 2nd round
  lost to Holland 1996 European Nations - did not
  qualify - lost to Holland (play off)
• 1998 World Cup (France) - did not qualify - lost
  to Belgium (play-off)
• 2000 European Nations Cup - did not qualify -
  lost to Turkey (play-off) on away goals
• 2002 World Cup (Japan/Korea) - qualified for 2nd
  round ranked 13th in the world after the event
• Highlights at Junior level
• Junior squads have enjoyed consistent success
  over the last decade frequently finishing in top
  quartile positions in European Nations
  Tournaments

6
The Context of Football

• Football as an international sport is booming
• The importance of the English Premiership
• The viability of football in Ireland and the FAI
  as an organisation is closely linked to the
  success or otherwise of its senior international
  team
• The competition for Ireland, in the 2nd tier of
  football nations, has intensified

7
The Irish International Players

• Young players with potential tend to leave
  Ireland at 15-16 to join a Premiership/First
  Division club in the UK
• They participate in excellent competition in the
  top English/Scottish Premierships
• This experience has raised expectations for a
  much higher standard of service/support than
  10-12 years ago
• Roy Keane is at the extreme edge of these
  expectations

8
Ireland - the Celtic Tiger

• Irish squads, especially in the last 12 years,
  have appeared to perform above expectations, in
  marked contrast to others
• Most people felt this was due to
• Strong morale and team spirit - almost like a
  club
• Feeling of we have nothing to lose
• Spirit of fun in the squad and get on with it
  when in adversity
• Social relationship with one another and fans
• Irelands national economic performance over the
  last decade has more than matched that of its
  football teams.
• Public sector funding for football is likely to
  be less available than in the past, or at least
  to a lesser extent than previous grants

9
FAI Objectives

• Specifically for the FIFA 2002 World Cup
• No explicit objectives written down or agreed
  between FAI and team management
• Implicit, but not shared
• To qualify for the second stage
• To do as well as we could
• To earn net 1.5m.
• No official structures and processes set up by
  FAI - just the Working Group

10
Preparing for Battle

• In December 2001 a Working Group was set up
• No dedicated plan or budget was prepared for the
  2002 World Cup
• Plans were made to improve ticketing arrangements
  and these seem to have worked well
• Pressure recognised by Board with secondment, in
  March 2002, of 2 extra members of staff to handle
  commercial opportunities
• Friendly matches chosen well against relevant
  opponents

11
Saipan - Relaxation and Acclimatisation

• Chosen from a number of alternatives
• 1000 miles south of Tokyo
• One hour time difference (forward) from Japan
• US Commonwealth - US culture
• Serious training not on the agenda
• Did the players really understand this?
• Evidence that this was explained and agreed at
  the team meeting the day before Niall Quinns
  testimonial
• Roy Keane was not present
• 5 star hotel and facilities
• Key staff arrived 2 days in advance to ease check
  in etc

12
Saipan - in Summary

• Good choice of venue for acclimatisation and
  relaxation, but it added a disproportionately
  large complexity to logistics
• Additional 3rd leg to an already tiring journey
• Out of mobile phone/wireless contact for many
• Journalists looking for a story
• The Pitch and Skip incidents were hugely more
  damaging than the technical impact on the teams
  performance
• FAI support for Press Officer and Team Management
  totally inadequate
• Mick had to take control of the management of
  media relations and had little support from
  others
• No crisis management policy or procedure to fall
  back on in Saipan or at home
• Exposed the flaws which were always there in
• Leadership, Management and Communication
• The Them and Us between the Team and the FAI

13
Saipan the good, the bad and the ugly from the
Players perspective

• Was the purpose of Saipan clear and agreed by
  all?
• Hotel and other facilities were excellent
• Acclimatisation was good
• Roy / Mick debacle created real stress for the
  players
• The pitch was the major issue
• The late arrival of the skips with kit, balls and
  drinks was a much lesser issue

14
For the Future.

• Transport Logistics
• Better planning and attention to detail
• More direct (chartered) flights
• All training facilities and equipment to be
  checked and delivered on time
• Including good gyms in hotels
• For the Players
• Greater protection from the press
• Masseurs as well as physiotherapists
• Arrangements made for families travelling to
  major tournaments
• and no expectation that FAI should pay
• Greater attention to detail
• Minimise/remove players stress so that they
  focus only on the football
• Demonstrate respect for players and their needs
• Need a bridge between the FAI and the players
• The idea of a team manager well received

15
PERFORMING

• The Total Team on the Field
• (Reviewed by David Whitaker)

16
Planning the World Cup Campaign

• Good Practice
• Solid thought processes went into the choice of
  training camp at Saipan
• This turned out to be ideal with regards to time
  zone, sympathetic personal environment and heat
  and humidity
• Good research and planning regarding
  acclimatisation to and playing in these
  conditions
• Experiences of both the medical team and the
  coaching staff used to establish good practices
  for acclimatisation
• Phases of the programme after departure from
  Ireland were clear in the minds of the management
  team

17
Capturing the Learning

• Review Processes
• No formal processes in place to review campaign
  and capture learning
• No reports written or requested by FAI
• No formal reviews by management team
• No formal reviews with players

18
OVERALL FINDINGS

• Reflecting on the Past

19
Our Overall Findings

• The Irish Football team, in achieving a ranking
  of 13th in the world, consolidated through their
  performance (12th place) in the FIFA 2002 World
  Cup, achieved a credible performance
• The commercial objective of a surplus of 1m is
  likely to be achieved
• The ticketing arrangements in particular were
  considerably better and more professional than in
  1994
• The much publicised incidents relating to the
  late delivery of skips and the quality of the
  training pitch in Saipan had little technical
  impact on the performance of the squad in the
  World Cup
• They did result in Irelands Captain and arguably
  best player going home
• They were the final straw in a self fulfilling
  prophecy
• The seeds which culminated in the captains
  withdrawal from the squad had been sown many
  years before and well nurtured over an extended
  period of time
• Many observers believed the potential of the
  Irish squad was not fully realised

20
Our Overall Findings

• The overall planning by the FAI was inadequate
  for an event the size and scale of the 2002 World
  Cup. The fact that the eventual outcome was
  positive (on the field and commercially) was more
  a matter of luck than effective management
  practice
• The size, scale and possible impact of the World
  Cup were under-estimated.
• Except that carried out by the Team Management
  and a number of very capable individuals - both
  groups working almost in isolation from the FAI
• The inexperienced Working Group was too informal
  in its set-up and operation and had little
  control over the outcome
• No formal learning was captured from previous
  major tournaments, or deployed to benefit the
  planning for this tournament
• The impact of additional workload for the World
  Cup not considered

21
Our Overall Findings

• In general there is not a culture of discipline
  in the management of the FAI, with most basic
  management disciplines non existent
• There were lots of words written about the FAI,
  its team and players before and during the 2002
  World Cup
• There was, however, little effective
  communication with stakeholders
• The management of the crises which emerged before
  and during the 2002 World Cup left a lot to be
  desired
• No management of high performance is practised by
  the FAI other than that delivered by the Senior
  Team and other team management
• The Development Plan One Game One Association
  does not address this in any depth
• There is no strategy or plans to develop key
  areas such as sports science and medicine
• Given the clear talent emerging from Ireland this
  represents an opportunity lost

22
Our Overall Findings

• In comparison with other nations the following
  key points emerged
• Country B full debriefing carried out with
  players, management and staff
• Country C planning by HQ staff and Head Coach
  debriefing planned for later in 2002
• Country D - have a World Cup Committee,
  integrating Team and Technical Management
• The FA (England) began planning in March 2001,
  with a full time Project Manager. No Journalists,
  or Officials are allowed to travel with the team.
  All travel is direct, by charter flight
• The scope and complexity of the activity carried
  out by the FAI have grown significantly over the
  last decade. Little has changed in the governance
  and management of the Association over that time
• The voluntary leadership and professional
  management structures of the FAI are designed to
  govern football domestically, and do not address
  the needs of the International team competing as
  it does at the highest level in the world
• They fail even to recognise good organisational
  practice employed elsewhere in sport, including
  in Ireland

23
RECOMMENDATIONS

• Creating the Future

24
The FAI have a Choice

• The FAI can improve its performance by
• Accepting the need for change in the way they do
  things
• Making a number of modest changes in areas such
  as travel arrangements, PR/media and the way they
  treat their players
• Tightening up on management practices, processes
  and procedures
• Improving the management and logistics for major
  tournaments
• This will not improve their competitive
  capability or performance in the tough and more
  competitive world of football, or resolve the
  major issues that emerged during the 2002 World
  Cup
• It will also not achieve the new beginning
  desired by almost everyone we spoke to during
  this review

25
No Choice?

• Alternatively the FAI can
• Accept the need for transformation in the way it
  manages football and the performance of its
  international teams
• recognising the importance of its players
• Recognise that to compete successfully and
  exploit the current growth in football as a sport
  and business, it needs to modernise and
  professionalise the leadership and management of
  the sport
• Set objectives for success over the next 8 years
  which will result in taking football to a leading
  position in Irish sport
• and the FAI to a position as a peak performing
  organisation, admired throughout the nation and
  the football world
• Achieve a period of sustained stability
• A new beginning is open to the FAI as a result of
  the crises in 2002, if it wishes to grasp that
  opportunity

26
Our Summary Recommendations

• Immediate Action (next 3 months)
• The FAI must accept openly
• need for greater professionalism
• need for change
• They must acknowledge openly the importance
• providing for their players and coaches as the
  first priority
• planning and managing their arrangements
• A number of changes should be considered to
  policies and practices regarding the travel and
  other arrangements for international fixtures and
  major tournaments e.g. charter flights, media
  arrangements, contingency planning
• The FAI needs to take action in the following
  specific management areas e.g. contracts of
  employment, job descriptions, performance review
  processes

27
Our Summary Recommendations

• Developing Effective Management and Functions
  (next 6 months)
• The FAI needs to make a number of senior
  appointments to lead and deliver the change
  secure sustained performance
• Chief Executive of the FAI
• Director of Performance
• Director of Football Operations
• Director of Marketing and Communications
• Director of Finance Administration
• The FAI should prepare an International
  Performance Plan for the next 4-8 years to
  include
• Setting up an International Performance Group

28
Our Summary Recommendations

• Developing Effective Management and Functions
  (next 6 months)
• Development and implementation of a High
  Performance Strategy
• The FAI needs to embrace the need for a culture
  of discipline and planning, within the ethos that
  is unique and special to Ireland
• Setting objectives and making plans
• Reviewing these plans regularly to secure
  successful outcomes
• Developing the skills of their people
• The FAI should continue their excellent work of
  developing coaching in Ireland, working with the
  NCTC to address especially the recruitment and
  development of future high performance coaches

29
Our Summary Recommendations

• For the Long-Term (Planned over the next 12
  months)
• A new beginning is open to the sport, if it
  wishes to grasp that opportunity. To achieve this
  there must be
• Greater engagement and development of the key
  stakeholders in the sport
• Football in Ireland should undertake a
  Development Initiative (4 Year Business Plan)
• The focus for development should be tightened
  along the lines of the Regional developments
  planned in One Game One Association with the
  League of Ireland clubs fully behind these
  efforts.
• Football in Ireland needs to determine its goals
  with an accompanying strategy for the sport over
  the next 8-10 years (say to the 2010 World Cup).
• If the FAI is serious about competing in the
  world class of 21st century football, it needs to
  modernise and professionalise to reflect the
  needs of 21st century sport. The key areas to
  address are
• Development of effective voluntary leadership,
  professional management and structures
• Reform of the existing Board of Management and
  Council

30
Implications

• Our recommendations are likely to involve an
  additional spend, which we believe can be covered
  out of existing and planned revenues
• Appointment of key executives is likely to cost
  an additional 400k
• Savings of 200k may be possible to compensate
  for these appointments
• A target of 150k should be set for additional
  external income
• FAI should consider increasing annual
  subscriptions to raise a further 100k, each
  year, to support the change over the next 4 years
  

31
FINALLY, THANK YOU