Packie Bonner to step down from role as FAI cuts costs

Packie Bonner is to leave his post as the Football Association of Ireland's technical director after eight years.

The 50-year-old former Celtic and Republic of Ireland international goalkeeper will step down when his contract ends on 31 December at a time when the FAI is in the process of making financial cuts.

Bonner said: "Over my eight-year term as technical director, great strides have been made in the development of our game throughout the country.

"This has been achieved through the hard work and dedication of all my colleagues and the thousands of volunteers who give up their valuable time to provide the opportunity for people to play the game we all love so much."

Meanwhile, German football federation president Theo Zwanziger will try and win a place on Fifa's executive committee to replace Franz Beckenbauer.

The German federation says that Zwanziger will be a candidate in the vote at the Uefa congress in March. If elected to be one of European football's representatives in Fifa's executive body, Zwanziger will take Beckenbauer's place.

Beckenbauer said earlier this month that he was stepping down for family reasons.