Dundalk FC “could go out of business” says PFAI secretary

PFA Ireland General Secretary, Stephen McGuinness, has issued a stark warning stating that Dundalk FC may face closure "within the next couple of weeks."

The Lilywhites are struggling with severe financial difficulties, highlighted by a delay in paying wages to both players and staff.

Dundalk's troubles were compounded by their 2-1 loss to Waterford on Friday, which keeps them at the bottom of the Premier Division.

According to The Irish Mirror, McGuinness, who has been in close communication with the players ever since the financial difficulties became public, described the seriousness of the situation at the FAI AGM Stillorgan on Saturday.

“I think it’s important that we talk through the situation currently at the football club (Dundalk), and just acknowledge two things first,”  he began. 

“One, the work done by the league office in the last couple of weeks is greatly appreciated by the players,”  McGuinness continued.

He then highlighted the broader context, saying, “It is 12 years since we’ve had a club go out of business, it’s seven years since we had a pay issue, which was Bray Wanderers, so we have had a really good time in the League of Ireland.

Reflecting on his experience, McGuinness added, “In my time, 15 years in it, the first number of years were difficult.

Turning back to Dundalk's immediate problems, he issued a grim prediction: “The issue that we see right now at Dundalk is that I personally think this club, within the next couple of weeks, could go out of business.

“And it’s a serious, serious problem. I look around and some people seem to think it’s going to be saved, but I don’t see that.

“At this moment in time, there are no wages there for the players next week. I’ve written to the board, I wrote to Tony (Keohane, FAI chairman) last week, and I acknowledge his response, to come and meet.

“But with the horse bolted at this stage, some of the things that we need to fix here - and I’ve put this in writing to the board - is that the ownership test isn’t robust enough.

“We need to designate a unit in the finance department to look at how the finances of our clubs are managed. In NIFL, up the north, they have a separate company to look after this.

McGuinness concluded by urging greater safeguards to prevent future crises, saying, “At some point, we need to get owners to put money into an escrow - at least 50% of the players’ salaries - to make sure that this doesn’t happen again."