The FAI has an executive committee of five members under the President, who receive expenses, as well as a paid administrative staff led by the general secretary Joe Murphy.

The IFA had been founded in 1880 in Belfast as the Irish and governing body for football for the whole of Ireland, which was then a single part ("Home Nation") of the United Kingdom.

The Munster Football Association, originally dominated by British Army regiments, had fallen into abeyance on the outbreak of the First World War,[7]: 27  and was re-established in 1922 with the help of the FAI, to which it affiliated.

However, when the FAI applied to join FIFA in 1923, it was admitted as the FAIFS (Football Association of the Irish Free State) based on a 26-county jurisdiction.

A 1924 meeting in Liverpool, brokered by the English FA, almost reached agreement on a federated solution, but the IFA insisted on providing the chairman of the International team selection committee.

A 1932 meeting agreed on sharing this role, but foundered when the FAIFS demanded one of the IFA's two places on the International Football Association Board (IFAB).

[8]: 23–25  Further efforts to reach agreement were made through a series of conferences between the IFA and FAI from 1973 to 1980 during the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland.

Donogh O'Malley, TD, the then Minister for Education, began a new programme of state-funded schools in 1966, many with association football pitches and teams.

[11]: Chapter 2: "Eircom Park and the National Stadium" [12] During preparation for the 2002 World Cup, the captain of the senior football team, Roy Keane, left the training camp and returned to his home.

Faced with the prospect of the government legislating to prevent any deal, the FAI agreed to accept an improved, but still lower, offer from RTÉ.

[14][11]: Chapter 6: "The Sky TV Deal" In 2002, the FAI made an unsuccessful bid with the Scottish Football Association to host UEFA Euro 2008.

It was later revealed that the reason for the refusal to sanction was due to an agreement the Association had in place whereby any game with a capacity of more than 20,000 had to be agreed with by a third-party, and that the FAI was in discussions about organising their own friendly with Barcelona (which the Catalan giants later refuted).

When asked if Limerick could hold the friendly if they agreed to cap the attendance at 19,990, the FAI then informed the press that the limit in the contract was in fact 15,000.

This apparent back-tracking, combined with abject media performances by John Delaney and Fran Gavin when attempting to justify the FAI decision, was seen as a further slap in the face for the League of Ireland, many of whose clubs were in serious financial danger.

[26] Shortly before this scandal, the FAI announced the first association football game to take place in the Aviva Stadium was to be between Manchester United and a League of Ireland XI.

When the announcement was made, it was mentioned that this game would potentially clash with a Bohemians Champions League qualifier, should the club progress.

[29] After the Aviva Stadium curtain-raiser, the FAI announced that they had debts of €38 million, and had only sold 6,300 Vantage Club tickets from a projected 10,000.

[30] This was at a time when the Chief Executive, John Delaney, earned €430,000, double what 2010 League of Ireland Champions received in prize money.

[33] When the Aviva Stadium was built, the FAI launched an ambitious premium debenture ticket scheme called the Vantage Club to help fund the association's share of the renovation costs.

[34] FAI Chief Executive John Delaney confirmed he gave the association a €100,000 loan to help it through what he said was a short-term cash flow problem.

[35] In April 2019, John Delaney appeared before the Oireachtas Committee on Tourism, Transport and Sport, stating he was precluded from making any further comments at this hearing in relation to the finances of the Association or his former role as CEO or the €100,000 loan.

David Moran told RTÉ Sport that the LSL committee had written to its 138 member clubs asking whether the Association's board should resign in the wake of revelations over a €100,000 loan from former FAI chief executive John Delaney to his employers.

[38][39] With liquidation of the association a possibility,[40][41] the men's national team's participation in the Euro 2020 play-offs was under threat due to the funding crisis.