The FAI has appointed David Courell as their new Chief Operating Officer.
The Castlebar native is set to replace outgoing Chief Operations Officer Rea Walshe who is leaving the association to establish a consultancy business.
His role will commence early in the New Year when he joins from his current role with the English FA as Head of the 2030 FIFA World Cup Bid Feasibility.
In this role he has worked on behalf of the English FA, the FAI, and the Northern Ireland, Scottish and Welsh FAs.
A graduate of UCD, Courell started out in the UK as a management consultant with Deloitte in London.
He then transitioned into the world of sport, playing a key role at the heart of the London 2012 Games as Operations Manager for the Olympic Stadium.
From there he took on the role of Director of Operations for the British Paralympic Association, helping to lead the team to record-setting performances at both the Sochi 2014 and Rio 2016 Games.
He then moved to the English FA in 2017, taking up the role of Head of Business Management and he also worked on several special projects including Russia 2018 FIFA World Cup planning for the England Senior Men’s team.
The FAI appoints @davidcourell as Chief Operating Officer
Details ➡️ https://t.co/cEmDAaVqRi#WeAreOne pic.twitter.com/rF9ziOV9ZO
— FAIreland ⚽️🇮🇪 (@FAIreland) December 10, 2021
Reacting to the announcement, FAI CEO Joanthan Hill said;
“One look at David’s CV will highlight how much he will bring to this role in terms of strategic management and business transformation.
"He is going to be a key player as we build out from the launch of the FAI Strategy 2022-2025 in January and I wish him the very best in this new and exciting chapter of his career in football.”
While Courell himself said;
“It was going to require something special to entice me away from The FA but I am hugely excited about moving back to Ireland and taking up this position with the FAI at a time of such transformation and opportunity for Irish football.
“I have been fortunate to experience first-hand what it takes to make a sporting organisation truly world-class and, as a proud Irishman, I am passionate about working with all stakeholders to apply these learnings and help bolster the FAI's execution of its new strategy due to be launched in the New Year.”
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