CONFIRMED: Treaty United acquired by new partnership led by incoming CEO Ciara McCormack

TREATY United FC has announced this Thursday morning that former Republic of Ireland women’s international and current Treaty United FC player Ciara McCormack has acquired the Limerick-based club in partnership with a Canadian-based investment group led by Tricor Pacific Capital Inc.

With this acquisition, Ciara McCormack will become the first female co-owner and CEO of a men’s and women’s club in the League of Ireland and will be focused on building a club that serves as a proud pillar of the Limerick community and competes at the top of Irish football for generations to come.

A statement from Treaty United issued this morning said: "Treaty United FC was founded in 2020 to bring League of Ireland football back to the Mid West. The women’s team began playing in the SSE Airtricity Women’s Premier Division in 2020, followed by the men’s team securing a licence to participate in the SSE Airtricity Men’s First Division in 2021.

Treaty United FC is the only professional football team in the city of Limerick and deeply values and respects its role in developing and supporting players in the community. The new ownership group plans to invest in revitalising and professionalising the club, with the goal of creating a sustainable and inspiring club that will be highly competitive with both its men’s and women’s senior teams and will be a leader in youth player development in Ireland.

Since 2020, the club has been led by the Board of Directors with incredible support from a network of volunteers, part-time coaches and buoyed by a supportive fan base. The introduction of new ownership will only serve to strengthen and build on these existing community bonds and capitalise on opportunities to build a stronger, sustainable, and more impactful club.

"The new ownership also wishes to express gratitude to the League of Ireland for their support on this acquisition and look forward to being collaborative partners within the Irish football community.

"Ciara McCormack joined Treaty United in 2023. She has eight caps for the Republic of Ireland women’s team and was a UEFA Women’s Champions League finalist. Ciara has a long history playing professional football in five different countries.

"She is also a prominent advocate of safe sport and will combine her expertise in both football and business to lead Treaty United FC as CEO. Ciara is a graduate of Yale University and has a Master’s in Sports Management from the University of Connecticut. She is also the owner of TOPP Soccer, a US based organisation that helps high school players win university scholarships through the events TOPP organises throughout North America.

"Ciara’s wealth of experience will be enhanced with strong Limerick football voices through the continued leadership of Tommy Barrett as coach of the senior men’s team, alongside former Republic of Ireland International player Marie Curtin who will continue to lead the U17 Women’s team. Sean O’Brien, a founding member of Treaty United FC and current Director of the club will provide continuity in governance on the Treaty United FC Board moving forward."

Ciara McCormack, Co-Owner/CEO at Treaty United FC, said: “As someone who was given an opportunity to represent the Republic of Ireland internationally, I couldn’t be more grateful to give back and build something special for the next generation of players in the country.

"With deep gratitude and acknowledgement for the immense work that’s been done by the volunteers and Board of the club in the last three years, combined with my partners from Tricor Pacific Capital, I am delighted, proud and excited to advance Treaty United FC forward both as a Football club and as a key contributing member of the Limerick Community. We aspire to be a club that everyone in the Mid West can be excited to be a part of and get behind.”

"The club has been acquired in partnership with Tricor Pacific Capital, a family office out of Vancouver BC, Canada. Tricor’s stated mission is "to build winning partnerships in pursuit of shared dreams we can all be proud of” and this is a perfect example of standing behind that intention.

"Ciara approached Tricor with her vision of owning a club that could create a lasting community impact. As long-term investors with a successful track record of leading great businesses over several decades, Tricor is aligned with Ciara’s vision and believes deeply in the potential opportunity for Treaty United and the City of Limerick. Tricor will support and enhance the governance and strategic direction of the club together with its leadership and local management team.

Shawn Lewis, CEO, Tricor Pacific Capital, said: “Tricor is incredibly proud to be partnering with Ciara to make a long-term investment in Treaty United FC. We look forward to working closely with the League of Ireland and the Limerick community to build the club and see it become a thriving organization that will inspire the many generations of footballers to come.”