FAI to advertise for new chief executive

In the same week Brian Kerr was unveiled as new national manager, the FAI headhunters have now turned their attention to recruiting…

In the same week Brian Kerr was unveiled as new national manager, the FAI headhunters have now turned their attention to recruiting a chief executive officer (CEO) as they continue to implement changes recommended in the Genesis report.

The association will advertise the post tomorrow as they search for the man or woman capable of leading Irish football's governing body out of the doldrums and into what they hope will be a 'new era' of considerable change.

Heading up the FAI has been something of a poisoned chalice in recent years with previous general secretarys, Bernard O'Byrne and more recently Brendan Menton, vacating their posts under a cloud.

Menton resigned following publication of the Genesis Report and after he shouldered much of the blame for the FAI's preparations for, and handling of, affairs during Ireland's World Cup campaign in Japan and Korea. O'Byrne fell on his sword in 2000 after a protracted period of in-house disagreements within the organisation.

READ MORE

Now under the guidance of consultants PricewaterhouseCoopers and following extensive recommendations made in the recent Genesis Report, the FAI hopes it can put past problems to bed and look to the future.

"The development work undertaken throughout the country by the many volunteers at local level together with the FAI's regional development officers and not least the appointment of a new International team manager this week augers very well for the game," said a spokesman for the FAI following Kerr's appointment on Tuesday.

"The position (CEO) represents an undoubted challenge for the successful candidate but one which is set against a background of a potentially very bright future for football in Ireland", added the spokesman.

A vision for the future and overall strategy for football in Ireland at all levels will be the key requirements for the successful candidate. The recruitment process will begin this weekend once adverts for the post appear in the national media and online on both the FAI and PWC websites. The closing date for applications is February 28th.

Meanwhile, Kerr will announce his first squad for the friendly game against Scotland - at Hampden Park in Glasgow on Wednesday, February 12th - at a press conference in Jury's Hotel, Ballsbridge, Dublin tomorrow.