Cork’s Niamh O’Mahony confirmed as FAI Board member 

CORK'S Niamh O’Mahony is officially a board member of the FAI after her appointment was ratified at the organisation’s Annual General Meeting in Dublin on Saturday afternoon.

The FORAS stalwart, who currently works as Chief Operating Officer and Head of Governance with Football Supporters Europe, will join as League of Ireland representative and she replaces the departing Dick Shakespeare.

O’Mahony’s appointment brings the total number of female representation on the FAI Board to three, and this goes a long way towards the organisation meeting its target of having the female cohort on the board at 40% by 2024.

Saturday’s meeting also saw Kerry FC’s inclusion into the League of Ireland First Division confirmed. They will now continue their preparations for the opening game of the season against Cobh Ramblers on February 17th at Mounthawk Park.

Packie Bonner and Robert Watt were also ratified for another two years on the FAI Board, with the big shock coming from the Schoolboys/Girls Association of Ireland (SFAI) with their representative, Tom Browne, not endorsed.

Browne was defeated by just two votes, with the final tally coming in at 46-44, and he will step down from the role after originally getting elected in 2021.

FAI CEO Jonathan Hill has urged the SFAI to put forward a female candidate as the organisation works towards their 2024 target.

O’Mahony will join the FAI Board after working for years with various supporters groups in Cork and Europe.

O’Mahony was involved with FORAS during City’s first season under fan ownership, and she ran a project for improving football governance through supporter involvement while with her hometown club.

She has acted as a consistent voice for fan ownership in football, and even appeared in a Copa 90 documentary about Cork City’s rise under FORAS.

FAI President Gerry McAnaney welcomed O'Mahony’s appointment to the FAI Board.

“She’s football through and through and she was a director of Cork City if my memory serves me correctly,” he said.

“She was a board member Cork City and it is also a female on our board which is great and as you must know, that is a challenge we must reach by the end of 2024 and we’re all committed as a board. Niamh on board is a big plus.” The FAI also confirmed that there will be a new logo for its national teams ahead of March’s Euro 2024 qualifier against France.

According to the Irish Independent, the organisation is hoping to rebrand as it looks to improve its position in the corporate world, as they recently failed to secure a men’s team sponsor.

This is just one action being taken by the FAI, who are dealing with and managing huge debts.