CEO Betrayal Revelation

Verified Timeline

Lore & Background

John Delaney was born on 16 October 1967 in Waterford, one of five children of Joe and Joan Delaney. His family moved to County Tipperary when he was about three, and he grew up in the town of Tipperary. As a schoolboy he played Gaelic games and soccer, lining out for St Michaels of Tipperary and Tralee Celtic of Kerry. His early career was in business, beginning with a bakery in Tralee, and by 2002 he owned three companies in Waterford. He sold a logistics business in 2002. After studies at Waterford IT, Delaney qualified as a chartered accountant but as of September 2016 had not gone through the formality of joining Chartered Accountants Ireland.

In Their Own Story

The biggest project during Delaney's time was the expansion of Lansdowne Road to become the Aviva Stadium. Led by the IRFU with FAI participation, the project delivered the stadium but the FAI found itself in severe debt. The Vantage Club scheme for high-income fans massively under-delivered on advance ticket sales, partly due to the declining economic climate after the Irish financial crisis and partially to over-pricing. On 4 June 2015, Delaney revealed the FAI had reached an agreement with FIFA for a payment in January 2010, reported to be €5 million, described as 'a payment to the association not to proceed with a legal case' after the 2009 World Cup play-off defeat to France. On 16 March 2019, the Sunday Times revealed Delaney had provided the FAI with an undisclosed personal loan of €100,000 in April 2017 to prevent the association from exceeding its €1.5m bank overdraft.

Reader's Guide

Delaney joined the board of Waterford United in 1996, representing the club on the FAI Senior Council. In July 2001, he was elected treasurer of the FAI at age thirty-three, becoming the youngest person to hold the position. His father, Joe, had held the same position previously. He became acting chief executive in November 2004 after Fran Rooney's departure, and was appointed full-time in March 2005. His contract was extended multiple times: to 2012 in November 2006, to 2015 in July 2010, and to 2019 in July 2014. In 2012 Delaney cut all FAI staff wages by 10% and announced he would do the same with his wages. However, in March 2019 it emerged the FAI had awarded him a benefit-in-kind payment of €3,000 a month towards a house in Kilmacanogue, rented from Grainne Seoige. On 23 March 2019 the FAI announced Delaney had resigned as CEO to become executive vice-president. He resigned from that role on 28 September 2019 and resigned his UEFA executive committee membership in January 2020.

Did You Know?

• John Delaney was the youngest person to hold the position of FAI treasurer when elected at age thirty-three in July 2001.
• His father, Joe Delaney, had previously held the same position of FAI treasurer.
• Delaney provided the FAI with a personal loan of €100,000 in April 2017 to prevent the association from exceeding its €1.5m bank overdraft.
• During the 2016 Summer Olympics ticket scandal, Brazilian police were given permission to seize Delaney's passport as part of an investigation into alleged ticket touting.
• Clones Town FC renamed their grounds Clones Town F.C. John Delaney Park in August 2013, but decided to rename them back to Clones Town FC Grounds in 2026.