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Champagne Football
- John Delaney and the Betrayal of Irish Football: The Inside Story
- Narrated by: Johnny Candon
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged Audiobook
- Categories: Sports & Outdoors, Football (Soccer)
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Summary
Brought to you by Penguin.
The number one best seller!
Over the course of 15 years, John Delaney ran the Football Association of Ireland as his own personal fiefdom. He had his critics, but his power was never seriously challenged until last year, when Mark Tighe and Paul Rowan published a sequence of stories in the Sunday Times containing damaging revelations about his personal compensation and the parlous financial situation of the FAI. Delaney's reputation as a great financial manager was left in tatters. He resigned under pressure and the FAI was left hoping for a massive bail-out from the Irish taxpayer.
In Champagne Football, Tighe and Rowan dig deep into the story of Delaney's career and of the FAI's slide into ruin. They show how he surrounded himself with people whose personal loyalty he could count on and a board that failed to notice that the association's finances were shot. They detail Delaney's skilful cultivation of opinion-formers outside the FAI. And they document the culture of excess that Delaney presided over and benefited from, to the detriment of the organisation he led.
Champagne Football is a gripping, sometimes darkly hilarious and often enraging piece of reporting by the award-winning journalists who finally pulled back the curtain on the FAI's mismanagement.
Critic reviews
"I read it in one sitting, it's a superb book." (Eamon Dunphy, The Stand)
"An astonishing exposé." (Martin Ziegler, The Times)
"Excellent." (Irish Sun)
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What listeners say about Champagne Football
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Anonymous User
- 24-06-21
Forensic and fascinating
never flags, always interesting. you'll need to rewind once or twice through a blizzard of numbers but all the bettet. JFM
1 person found this helpful
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- Sagairt
- 22-05-22
The Best Football Book read for a long time
Great research and detail and well narrated. Pity it was our football association but hopeful the events outlined will reinforce the ongoing changes and reforms for the better of Irish football.
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- Joe
- 01-01-22
Mental story
Great read. It could be a movie the story is bonkers. Reads like a mafia boss coming up from nothing until he falls
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- N. Richardson
- 12-10-21
Rage Inducing Brilliance
It boiled my blood almost throughout but it's a must read for any Irish sports fan. Narrator is easy to listen to and the story is easy to follow, even if it does raise your blood pressure considerably.
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- Derek H
- 22-09-21
champagne football
the story of a one man Irish Mafia and the downfall, it's almost to much to believe
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- Anonymous User
- 30-08-21
delaney some buyo
outstanding ... I highly recommend this the fai are a shambles, money disappearing etc
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- Rob
- 11-08-21
Fantastic
Well written, shocking and gripping, a sad tale that all involved in Irish soccer must hear.
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- Sean
- 24-06-21
Staggering read, but done very well
Fantastic book.
You'll be shocked with everything that went, it's scarcely believable. If you're an Irish football fan you need to read this.
The writing was a bit repetitive (reads at times like a bunch of articles pieced together) but the story is absolutely captivating. I flew through it.
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- Anonymous User
- 09-06-21
Great read
amazing to hear what John delaney got away with and how the board were so like sheep, afraid to challenge delaney
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- Brendan D.
- 03-06-21
Greed and power
A great read. Delaney should be jailed for his gross mismanagement and conduct. The FAI should be overhauled top to bottom.
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- Nouvation
- 20-12-20
A shocking tale of entitlement
Knew a lot of this story before reading but to have it chronicled so well it still has a massive impact. Well done to those that brought the cartel down.