CHAMPAGNE FOOTBALL HAS taken the Sports Book of the Year accolade at tonight’s An Post Irish Book Awards.

Following a series of revelations in the Sunday Times that began to emerge in March 2019, the book charts the demise of the Football Association of Ireland under the stewardship of former chief executive John Delaney.

Written by Sunday Times journalists Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan, Champagne Football was first published in September by Penguin Ireland.

The blurb describes the book as “a gripping, sometimes darkly hilarious and often enraging piece of reporting by the award-winning journalists who finally pulled back the curtain on the FAI’s mismanagement”.

Five other books were also shortlisted for an award that was won last year by Richie Sadlier’s autobiography ‘Recovering’, which the former Ireland striker co-authored with Dion Fanning.

This year’s other nominees were:

• True Colours – Barry Geraghty with Niall Kelly (Gill)
• The Hill: My Autobiography – Bernard Brogan with Kieran Shannon (Reach Sport)
• The Russian Affair – David Walsh (Simon & Schuster)
• No Hiding: My Autobiography – Rob Kearney with David Walsh (Reach Sport)
• Fuel – Seán O’Brien with Gerry Thornley (Sandycove)