Delaney to lead FAI
Friday, November 26, 2004
Article summary
The Football Association of Ireland has appointed former treasurer John Delaney as its new chief executive.
Article body
Permanent appointment
Delaney takes over from Fran Rooney, who quit three weeks ago, despite opposition from the Irish government, which wanted the FAI to make a short-term appointment and then advertise the post publicly in order to justify its government funding.
Seeking change
But the FAI has gone ahead with appointing Delaney, who has promised to accelerate the process of change in the organisation. "We have been changing," he said. "Not as fast or as fully as we planned but we remain committed to getting the reform process back on track. We now need to move on the executive and staff change programmes and the many reforms which will bring about more professionalism."
'Back to basics'
He added: "The association needs some stability right now. It's time for simply getting on with our business for the football community and I see my role as providing leadership for all those involved in the game throughout the country as we face the tasks ahead. It's a time for getting back to basics."
