Noel Mooney admits the FAI went stale under John Delaney’s marathon tenure.
Delaney’s former job, while he is on gardening leave, is currently being filled by Mooney on a six-month secondment from Uefa.
The appointment of the former FAI marketing manager as general manager has angered Sports Minister Shane Ross, who slammed the decision as ‘backward’.
State funding remains suspended until Ross and his department are satisfied that corporate governance mechanisms are modernised.
Six separate investigations are ongoing at the FAI, including a forensic exercise by the Office by the statutory watchdog, the Office of Director of Corporate Enforcement (ODCE).
“We will build relationships with the government, maybe not in my time, but we have to because we cannot work with stadium infrastructure,” he said.
“Dundalk need a new arena, as do St Patrick’s Athletic. Two of three plans are not the answer. We need a vision of where the FAI and the League of Ireland will be at in 2030.
“When the FAI got into financial difficulties over their ticketing scheme, our budget for promotions disappeared. I had some disagreements about strategy of the league and was disappointed with the attitude shown towards the league.
“It was very hard to keep the motivation when there was a CEO there for 15 years.
“Areas need to be refreshed to make sure the FAI is fit for purpose. New people will emerge on the board over the next few months.”
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