David Courell is to be the new the Chief Operating Officer, of the FAI, commencing early in the New Year.
He will join the Association from his current role with the English FA as Head of the 2030 FIFA World Cup Bid Feasibility where he leads this work not only on behalf of the English FA but the FAI and the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh FAs.
David replaces outgoing Chief Operations Officer Rea Walshe who is leaving the Association to establish a consultancy business.
As an experienced Sports Executive, David’s previous position at The FA as Head of Business Management saw him establish a new function responsible for the development and execution of strategy across the breadth of the organisation where he introduced what has been recognised by UEFA as an industry-leading business planning process.
His time at The FA also saw him lead on several special projects including Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup planning for the England Senior Men’s team.
After graduating from UCD, David progressed his career in the UK starting out as a Management Consultant with Deloitte in London.
He transitioned into the world of sport playing a key role at the heart of the London 2012 Games as Operations Manager for the Olympic Stadium.
From there he took on the role of Director of Operations for the British Paralympic Association, helping to lead the team to record-setting performances at both the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Games. He moved to the English FA in 2017.
“It was going to require something special to entice me away from The FA but I am hugely excited about moving back to Ireland and taking up this position with the FAI at a time of such transformation and opportunity for Irish football,”
“I have been fortunate to experience first-hand what it takes to make a sporting organisation truly world-class and, as a proud Irishman, I am passionate about working with all stakeholders to apply these learnings and help bolster the FAI’s execution of its new strategy due to be launched in the New Year.”
Welcoming David to the Football Association of Ireland, CEO Jonathan Hill said: “One look at David’s CV will highlight how much he will bring to this role in terms of strategic management and business transformation.”
“He is going to be a key player as we build out from the launch of the FAI Strategy 2022-2025 in January and I wish him the very best in this new and exciting chapter of his career in football.”
Sport for Business Perspective
This is a major appointment for the FAI and strengthens the management team with a real World Class operator. His experience at managing the Olympic Stadium will equip him to get the best from the FAI’s relationship with the Aviva Stadium and on other key infrastructure projects. The work since then with the British Paralympic Association and the FA is of the highest order and persuading him back home is another win for the FAI.
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