Setanta’s collapse earlier this year has left an £80 million shortfall in the FA’s books and a sizeable hole in its domestic broadcast coverage of the FA Cup. Finding a direct replacement has so far proved extremely difficult, but new chief executive Ian Whatmore is confident that the FA’s underlying finances, helped by the advance monies already banked from Setanta, enable it to take a longer-term view.
The FA is considering a number of options, including taking back some rights from to its senior broadcast partner, commercial network ITV, and agreeing new long-term deals running up until the 2014 World Cup.
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