THE Irish FA has recorded a profit after tax of £456,916 for the year ended 31 March 2010 compared with a profit after tax of £61,294 for the previous year, while turnover has increased by 15% from £9,085k in 2008/09 to £10,463k in 2009/10.

During the year the Association played an important role within the community – in the areas of grassroots, domestic and international football:

• Through the Department of Education funded Primary Schools Coaching Programme, the Irish FA has deployed 30 full-time coaches into over 270 schools, where they are directly coaching over 15,000 Primary School children. This is addition to the 15 Grassroots Development Officers who are working in partnership with local councils and clubs to develop and expand participation in football throughout the Province.
• The Northern Ireland Under 17 and Under 19 teams qualified for the elite stages of the UEFA European U17 and U19 Championships. The Group 4 U17 elite round mini tournament was hosted in Northern Ireland and also included teams from Spain, Belgium and Poland. Spain were eventual winners of the group on goal difference, with Belgium and Northern Ireland both finishing on six points from three matches.
• The continued rollout of the Floodlighting Improvement Project saw new lighting installations at Coleraine, Glenavon and Institute. Further projects at Newry City, Donegal Celtic and Dungannon Swifts are planned for the next season.
• The Soccer Strategy programme delivered a significant amount of improvement projects at 16 clubs which included new stands, terraces, toilet facilities and general ground improvements. Major Stadia Safety projects were completed at Portadown and Donegal Celtic with further projects commenced at Ballymena Showgrounds and Drumahoe.
• During the period 2009-2010 the Norfolkline Irish FA Centres of Excellence Programme provided a developmental coaching programme for 600 boys and180 girls in age groups 11 to 15.
• The Disability Football Department has continued to increase the number of structured opportunities for those with a disability to get involved in football programmes from participation opportunities through to representative honours.
• The Child and Player Welfare section continued to educate the football community by delivering Safeguarding Children and Young People in Football courses to 972 coaches and volunteers.

Irish FA President Raymond Kennedy said: “Our annual report shows that we have controlled our costs and grown our revenue – and it is pleasing to see great results especially in this current economic climate.

“I would like to thank the fans, Irish FA staff, sponsors, our partners at UEFA/FIFA and the government for working with us. The Irish FA plays an important role in our community – we provide a wide range of services across grassroots, domestic and international football that touches all people from all sides of our community.”