FAI council members have been urged to fully endorse governance reforms at an EGM at the end of the month or the association could go bust.

The association's interim CEO Gary Owens made this plea, just one day after the council was warned in a letter from Independent chair Roy Barrett that funding will not be restored if the reforms are not approved and as a result the FAI would become insolvent.

Speaking at a media briefing at FAI headquarters in Abbotstown this afternoon Owens said that this is a really important time for the association.

He said that the FAI borrowed €52.5 million and that the FAI needed that money.

He said the FAI needs the confidence of the key stakeholders - the Bank of Ireland, Government, FIFA and UEFA - and that they need to rebuild trust.

Their reputation, he said, was seriously damaged publicly with key stakeholders and that they need to prove to everybody that they can put in the proper governance reforms and that they will deliver on them.

And at the same time, he added, they need to respect the AGM, and what it actually stands for. 

The AGM he said is the supreme decision-making body of the association.

A number of council members are said to be unhappy that as part of the memorandum of understanding with Government the board of  directors of the association is to be made up of six members from the football community and six independent people.