Interviews will take place over the next 48 hours with candidates that have been shortlisted to take over as the new CEO of the FAI.
Gary Owens as the incumbent interim CEO has not denied he is one of the names and is among five potential candidates named in today’s Irish Independent and Irish Examiner.
All is mere speculation at this point and we understand that one of the five at least never put themselves forward and will not be seen at the location of the interviews taking place with officials from Sport Ireland, the FAI and recruiters Odgers Berndtson.
Mick O’Keeffe, CEO of Teneo Ireland is on the newspaper’s list but did not put himself forward for the role.
The others named are certainly plausible.
Sarah Keane of Swim Ireland and the Olympic Federation of Ireland was nominated by us way back in the process as an obvious candidate and one who would have strong credentials as a reformer in both her primary roles within sport to date.
She is a fan of the sport but without any formal connection which might be seen as another positive.
Another name mentioned is that of Adrian Bevington, though he is misnamed in the paper as Adam Bevington, a former Group Head of Communications with the FA and Managing Director of Club England.
He stepped away from the FA in 2014 since which time he has been a consultant across the sport including in spells with UEFA and as a director of his home town club Middlesbrough.
Duncan Fraser is the other name listed. He recently stepped down as a Board Member of the Scottish FA and CEO of Aberdeen to take up a role mentoring within the UEFA Grow programme, working alongside Noel Mooney.
Not among those listed but another we put forward in the past is Ciaran Medlar, a partner in BDO who has long been involved in and around the sport on the other side of the table to the FAI in negotiating for player groups.
His business acumen would be valuable as the Association seeks to continue its path towards financial security. A major step in this direction was agreed last on Monday night with the acceptance of the Memorandum of Understanding though the role will still be a political minefield for some time to come.
Good luck anyway to all those who have been willing to go this far and who will be quizzed over the coming days. Whoever emerges will take on one of the biggest jobs in Irish sport at an incredibly difficult time in its history but with only one direction to travel in terms of reputation and public affection.
