The FAI says it won’t rename the association as part of its ‘brand refresh’.
Irish football’s governing body wants a new look and feel as it tries to shake its battered reputation from the John Delaney era.
A new crest is on the way and talks to rebrand the League of Ireland are taking place.
But CEO Jonathan Hill has ruled out a name change for the entire association.
“There’s nothing to hide here, it’s just a review of how the brand looks,” he said.
“We’re talking about brand refresh, certainly for the League of Ireland which I think is well overdue.
“We’ll look at the identity, i.e. the crest, in relation to the association itself and what’s on the shirt.
“I understand there’s a deep emotionality attached to that and so we’re looking closely at it.
“But I don’t think at the moment there’s any need to change the name of the association because we are the Football Association of Ireland.”
Meanwhile, Ireland managers have been told to strive for consistency in their attempts to reach major tournaments.
That’s now the minimum requirement expected of Stephen Kenny and Vera Pauw’s teams as the FAI embarks on its new four-year strategy.
Kenny is under orders to reach Euro 2024, but the FAI rowed back on draft copy demands for qualification at every second tournament.
Pauw’s Girls in Green are tasked with either World Cup 2023 or Euro 2025 qualification.
Ireland’s senior men have only qualified for three of the last 14 World Cups or European Championships - and just one of the last five.
FAI chief Hill said: “‘It remains a challenge for the World Cup.
“Even when you move to 48-teams, the allocation - at the moment - to Europe is not higher proportionally compared to other federations.
“It’s 16 teams (13, in a 32-tournament) out of 55 to qualify, so that’s tough. That doesn’t mean we don’t have aspirations to be there.
“If we do well in relation to Euro 2024, maybe our ranking will move in the right direction and we could be a second seed rather than third.”
Hill added: ‘In relation to the Euros, if we move to a 32-team tournament out of 55 countries, am I confident we would qualify? Yes I am.”
