It seems that the IFA may have allegedly broken company law. The law is simple. If any company makes a change to their articles, they must notify the Companies House about it within 15 days.
However, it seems that the IFA failed to do so. Documents publicly available confirms this on a cursory glance. What this means is that the Irish FA according to Section 26 (3) of the 2006 Companies Act could be committing an offence as is every officer (board member).
You might remember the amateur club I reported about previously: Donaghadee F.C. You should definitely read this piece from August 20, 2020. Jamie Bryson, the manager of the club, was also the man spearheading the legal challenge against the IFA for not completing the season. So, I wanted his input on what I was told.
This is what Jamie Bryson told The 4th Official, “A cursory reading of Section 26 (1) the Companies Act 2006 illuminates the most obvious requirement to provide a copy of any amended articles within 15 days.
“If we view the Irish FA’s returns, at the point of last week when I raised the issue, they last notified the registrar of changes in April 2017, which in any event was also well outside the 15 day statutory time limit.
“When we then turn to the publicly available IFA handbook, it is plain to see that amendments were made at their 2018 AGM.
“As a pure matter of the law, the Irish FA as a company, and every officer, has committed a criminal offence pursuant to Section 26 (3) of the Companies Act 2006.
“This is extraordinary incompetence, and it is unclear whether criminal proceedings will be issued against the governing body.
“By virtue of a letter dated 16 September 2020 the IFA have confirmed they have now updated their filings; this nevertheless does not remedy the offence which has been committed up until this point.
“In my view both the Chair of the IFA Board, the IFA President and the CEO should all seriously be considering their positions.”
Arbitration results come out later today as the amateur club fighting a David Vs Goliath scenario against the governing bodies of N.I. football will know the results of their effort. Either way, this is something that should be given more attention as the allegation from Mr Bryson is quite serious.
