Gerry McAnaney and Gary Cooke were re-elected as President and Vice President of the FAI yesterday at an EGM required to advance further the reforms introduced by the Association to restore faith after what was described by McEnaney yesterday as a “torrid two years.”

Chair Roy Barrett was also re-elected as Chair for another two year period in elections held across the 141 member General Assembly.

All the votes, and the ratification of the new board, took place virtually with a number of those involved attending at FAI HQ in Abbottstown.

The incoming Board will include newcomers Tom Browne, representing the Schools side of the sport, Gary Twohig, a former Managing Director of Samsung Ireland and General Manager of Glanbia Performance and now the founder of a new Fitness start-up FizFit. and for me FAI Technical Director and Italia ’90 legend Packie Bonner.

“I want to thank the General Assembly delegates for ratifying my appointment today,” said Twohig after the vote. “I was delighted to come through a very robust selection process and to be nominated for this role. As a keen football supporter, I want to be part of the new FAI and I am confident my business experience can assist us as we continue to move Irish football forward.”

They will join the re-elected John Finnegan, Catherine Guy, Liz Joyce, Joseph O’Brien, Richard Shakespeare and Robert Watt on the Board.

With the three newcomers all being male, that leaves Guy and Joyce as the only women on the Board, falling short of the proposed minimum 30 per cent, though still higher than is the case at a significant number of other sports.

Balance

That aside, the Board does represent a good balance of sporting business, administrative and political experience, just as any good board should.

“I am proud and humbled to be re-elected to Irish football as President of the Association for the next two years as we continue our positive journey of reform,” said McEnaney.

“My congratulations to Paul Cooke and all the Board members elected today, my thanks to all who voted but also to Dave Moran and Ursula Scully for standing as candidates and I wish them well. I would also like to thank Martin Heraghty for his service to Irish football as a very valued member of our Board and I look forward to working with him again in the coming years.”

“Firstly I would like to thank Ursula Scully for standing for election and ensuring an open and transparent process was in place for this vote. I look forward to continuing the work we started in May 2019 and complete the improvement in the Association’s fortunes,” added Cooke.

“This is a watershed moment for Irish football,” said Roy Barrett. “The appointment of the General Assembly and today’s elections represent a new start for Irish football after a very traumatic time for our game. Our new Assembly and our new Board have been given a mandate by our football community to lead the transformation of the FAI and I am delighted that today’s vote and our new Governance structures reflect that.”

“I would also like to take this opportunity to thank Martin Heraghty, Ursula Scully and Dave Moran as they step away from the Board. Their service to Irish football over the last two years or so has been immense at a time when we needed people to step up to the plate and I thank them for that.”

“On behalf of all the staff at the FAI, I warmly welcome our newly elected officers and Board members and assure them that they will have our full support as we work together to continue our Governance reform and build a new FAI that is fit for purpose and an Association of the future,” said CEO Jonathan Hill.

“We have a lot of hard work ahead of us but we will work with the new Board now to deliver for Irish football as we prepare to enter our Centenary Year from June 1.”

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