Limerick man leads Wales' Qatar World Cup return after 64-year wait

A LIMERICK man is leading Wales on their return to the FIFA World Cup stage for the first time in 64 years.

Cappamore native Noel Mooney is the current Chief Executive with the Football Association of Wales, having taken over the role in August 2021.

Wales skipper Gareth Bale and company arrived in Qatar in the early hours of Wednesday morning for Wales’ first appearance at a World Cup since 1958.

Wales are the smallest nation to qualify for the 32-team tournament, with its 3.1million population marginally larger than that of Qatar who had automatic entry to the finals as hosts.

Mooney is a former League of Ireland goalkeeper who played for Limerick, Cork City and Shamrock Rovers in the League of Ireland. 

Following his playing career, he joined the Football Association of Ireland in 2006 where his role was focussed on domestic football, later having the responsibility of marketing the League of Ireland. 

Mooney had been with the European football governing body since 2011 and was seconded to the FAI for six months in 2019 to lead the association ad interim. At UEFA, he has created a number of leading development programmes which have been adopted right across the European football landscape. 

Mooney joined the FA Wales from UEFA, where he was Head of Strategic Development working with all 55 European federations on their development including strategy, commercial revenues, participation, public affairs, digital transformation and governance. 

Limerickman Mooney compares Wales’ World Cup breakthrough to when Jack Charlton kick-started the ‘Celtic Tiger’ success through the Republic of Ireland reaching Euro 88.

“Every day feels like a new step in the development of Welsh football,” FAW chief executive Mooney told the PA news agency.

“It’s definitely a game-changer for football and for the nation in a wider context. It gives us confidence that the country can stride onto the world stage.

“We’re alongside some of the biggest nations on the planet at the World Cup, and it means a lot that we’re going to the biggest show on earth.

“What I would be worried about is if we hadn’t done our stuff off the pitch. But we’ve stepped up our work to interact with different parties and institutions and we’re much more part of Welsh life."