Noel Mooney

Noel Mooney
Personal information
Date of birth (1976-12-12) 12 December 1976
Place of birth London, England
Position Goalkeeper
Youth career
Cappamore Celtic F.C.
St. Michael's A.F.C.
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1994–1996 Limerick (0)
1996–2003 Cork City 103 (0)
2004–2005 Shamrock Rovers 29 (0)
2005–2006 Limerick 18 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals

Noel Mooney (born 12 December 1976) is an Irish sports official and former footballer who is the CEO of the Football Association of Wales.

Early life

Born on 12 December 1976, Noel Mooney grew up in Cappamore, a town in County Limerick.[1][2][3] He played as a goalkeeper at underage level for his local team, Cappamore Celtic.[3] Mooney moved to St. Michael's and played for them in the FAI Youth Cup in the early 1990s.[4]

Career

Mooney began his career as a semi-professional footballer at Limerick F.C.[5][4] He quit football after a disagreement with the club and worked on construction sites in England before moving back to Ireland with Cork City in 1996.[6][7] During his time at Turners Cross, he helped City win the FAI Cup in 1998, defeating Shelbourne F.C. after a replay.[6][8][9] Mooney also kept 2 clean sheets in seven European appearances.

He went on to play with Shamrock Rovers, and was instrumental in keeping the Dubliners in the Premier Division in the 2004 season.[10] Limerick F.C. announced the signing of Mooney as their goalkeeper in 2005.[5] In June 2006, Mooney was appointed as Limerick F.C.'s commercial director.[2] He retired from playing football at the end of the 2006 season due to injury.[5][4] The same year, he joined the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) as their club promotions officer, later becoming the organisation's lead marketing manager.[9][11][4]

After five years in the FAI's marketing team, Mooney moved to the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) in 2011.[12][8] He returned to the FAI in 2019, after he was seconded to the organisation following the fallout over a bridging loan provided by former chief executive, John Delaney. He led the association for six months before returning to his role with UEFA.[13][12][7]

Mooney worked for the Football Association of Ireland, UEFA, and the Football Association of Wales.[14][15][16][17][18][19][9][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30][31][32] [33]

On 19 July 2021, Mooney was appointed chief executive officer (CEO) of the FAW.[34] In January 2026, his contract was extended until 2030.[35][5]

Personal life

During his career as a footballer, Mooney worked in construction and automobile sales.[6][4] He completed a postgraduate degree in marketing studies in Dublin Institute of Technology (DIT) while working with the FAI.[9][8]

In 2001, Mooney was involved in a car accident in which a young woman died. He was convicted of careless driving and fined €400.[4]

Honours

Cork City
Limerick

Sources

  • Irish Football Handbook by Dave Galvin & Gerry Desmond (ISBN 0-9517987-3-1)

References

  1. ^ "Noel Mooney » Profile". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
  2. ^ a b "Mooney gets new job at Limerick FC". RTÉ Sport. 10 June 2006. Archived from the original on 23 January 2025. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  3. ^ a b O'Regan, Donal (23 May 2019). "FAI top job for Limerick man Noel but he's never forgotten Cappamore". limerickleader.ie. Archived from the original on 23 May 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d e f Malone, Emmet (1 June 2019). "Noel Mooney's relationship with John Delaney causes scepticism". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 21 July 2019. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  5. ^ a b c d Kinsella, Colm (10 January 2026). "Limerick man extends tenure at Chief Executive of Wales Football Association". limerickleader.ie. Archived from the original on 12 January 2026. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  6. ^ a b c "Mooney's Cup bid in overdrive". independent.ie. independent.ie. 13 May 1998. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  7. ^ a b Cooney, Gavin (20 May 2019). "Who is Noel Mooney, the man tasked with helping to turn the FAI around?". The42. Archived from the original on 2 June 2019. Retrieved 24 May 2026.
  8. ^ a b c "'We are going to make sure Qatar doesn't become our Saipan'". the42.ie. 21 November 2022. Archived from the original on 7 September 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d e "Who is Noel Mooney?". independent.ie. 20 May 2019.
  10. ^ "When baldness is a ridge too far". Irish Independent. 28 January 2005. Archived from the original on 19 July 2024. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  11. ^ "Noel Mooney in the Spotlight". sportforbusiness.com. 3 September 2019. Archived from the original on 4 May 2026.
  12. ^ a b "Noel Mooney lands CEO role at Welsh FA". RTÉ Sport. 19 July 2021.
  13. ^ Malone, Emmet. "Noel Mooney: 'stage set for stronger FAI' despite difficulties". irishtimes.com. Archived from the original on 30 November 2019.
  14. ^ "'We are not just a Football Association – we are a movement'". nation.cymru. 29 May 2022.
  15. ^ "Noel Mooney on Wales' World Cup woe, championing the Welsh language and the grassroots game". dailypost.co.uk. 8 December 2022.
  16. ^ "Limerick's Prince of Wales unpacking a $9m World Cup bonus". irishexaminer.com (Archived).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  17. ^ "Noel Mooney on a beautiful future for football in Cymru". 18 November 2022.
  18. ^ "Noel Mooney: World Cup a game-changer for Welsh football and the nation". independent.ie. 16 November 2022.
  19. ^ "Limerick man leads Wales' Qatar World Cup return after 64-year wait". limerickleader.ie. 20 November 2022.
  20. ^ "Daniel McDonnell: 'Mooney tried his best but leaves with six months of FAI chaos summed up in one week'". independent.ie. 30 November 2019.
  21. ^ "Daniel McDonnell: 'Appointment of Noel Mooney is a tough sell for Irish football'". independent.ie. 21 May 2019.
  22. ^ "Shane Ross: 'This cynical move to appoint FAI loyalist Noel Mooney is going right back to the dark ages'". independent.ie. 26 May 2019.
  23. ^ "'The initial task is to start rebuilding trust with people' - Noel Mooney". independent.ie. 20 May 2019.
  24. ^ "'I am ashamed at how our beautiful game has gone' - acting head of FAI Noel Mooney breaks silence on Irish game". independent.ie. 18 June 2019.
  25. ^ "Noel Mooney calls for 'brave decisions' on all-island league". irishtimes.com (Archived).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  26. ^ "Noel Mooney says FAI became stale during Delaney's reign". irishtimes.com (Archived).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  27. ^ "Noel Mooney leaves door open to contentious long term role at FAI". irishtimes.com (Archived).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  28. ^ "Mooney engagement in contrast to Conway". independent.ie. 28 August 2019.
  29. ^ "Noel Mooney: A shame shadow has been cast on good work of FAI". irishexaminer.com (Archived).{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  30. ^ "'I wonder has the bitterness become too much' - Mooney hits back at Kerr". independent.ie. 15 October 2019.
  31. ^ "Mooney reveals equal pay plan". independent.ie. 28 November 2019.
  32. ^ "Noel Mooney - Mirror article".{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
  33. ^ McLeod, Sam (6 July 2001). "FACING CELTS IS A REAL CORKER FOR FIRST NOEL". thefreelibrary.com.
  34. ^ Cummiskey, Gavin (19 July 2021). "Noel Mooney named new Football Association of Wales chief". The Irish Times. Archived from the original on 19 July 2021. Retrieved 4 May 2026.
  35. ^ "Noel Mooney: FAW chief executive extends contract to 2030". BBC Sport. 9 January 2026. Archived from the original on 9 January 2026. Retrieved 5 May 2026.
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