THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Ireland have appointed Gary Owens as interim chief executive.
Owens has previously been CEO with Athletics Ireland and is to resign his position as CEO of Down Syndrome Ireland to take up the role with the FAI.
John Foley — another former Athletics Ireland boss — was set to take up the position, in place of Noel Mooney, before Christmas but ultimately chose not to.
Paul Cooke was installed as ‘executive lead’ in Abbotstown but he will now hand over to Owens.
“Gary brings a wealth of experience to this interim role and the Board and I look forward to working with him,” says FAI Independent Chairperson Roy Barrett said.
“The Board would like to take this opportunity to sincerely thank Mr Paul Cooke, FAI Board Member, who at very short notice held the position of Executive Lead on a pro bono basis for the past few weeks, whilst a process to identify and select an interim CEO was underway.”
The Association intend to start the process of identifying a CEO in the coming weeks.
In a statement to members of Down Syndrome Ireland this evening, Owens said he has “been involved in soccer all my life and really want to help move the FAI forward”.
He added that he is happy to stay involved “on a voluntary basis” but is to resign as CEO of the organisation.
