David Martin: Irish FA president elected to Fifa vice-president's role
- Published
David Martin's election to the Fifa role continues his remarkable comeback
Irish FA president David Martin has been elected as a Fifa vice-president after winning the vote for the position reserved for the UK associations.
Martin defeated FA of Wales president Kieran O'Connor and Scottish FA vice-president Mike Mulraney for the role at Uefa's Congress in Montreux.
The Northern Ireland candidate got 48 of the 55 votes in the election.
The £190,000 post became vacant after FA chairman Greg Clarke's resignation in November.
Clarke quit his posts over unacceptable language he used when referring to black players during a Westminster parliamentary committee session.
Martin, who was defeated by Clarke in a previous election for the post in 2019, will serve a two-year term.
"I'm delighted for the Irish Football Association, football in Northern Ireland generally and the nation as a whole. It's a fantastic position for the Association to hold," Martin told BBC Sport.
"I come from the amateur game and football worldwide is about the whole game, both for amateurs and professionally.
"It has been a great seven or eight days for football in Northern Ireland. The women's team qualified for the Euros last week and then we had a super Sunday, with Brendan Rodgers and Jonny Evans heading to Wembley for the FA Cup final, which is great for people who have grown up here and progressed.
"Equally, this is a great occasion for Northern Ireland football to have a Fifa vice-president.
"You cannot aspire to something like this. My thanks go to the 55 associations who have elected me, to be elected by your peers is incredible."
World governing body Fifa has eight vice-president positions, one of which is reserved for the four UK associations.
Martin's remarkable comeback
Martin's election to the role continues a remarkable comeback for the Northern Ireland man after he was forced to leave his then position as Irish FA vice-president in 2010, along with then president Raymond Kennedy, after then Northern Ireland Sports Minister Nelson McCausland deemed the governing body "not fit for purpose".
This followed an independent report into the departure of previous IFA chief executive Howard Wells which strongly criticised the roles of Martin and Kennedy. Wells left the IFA in 2008 and his departure culminated in an unfair dismissal case that cost the governing body over £500,000.
Martin made three unsuccessful attempts to regain a place in the IFA hierarchy after failing independent competency tests that had been put in place for future holders of high office in the association.
However, these competency tests were removed from IFA rules at the football governing body's 2013 annual general meeting, which opened the door for Martin's return as the association's deputy-president and he became the governing body's president three years later.
Martin's term as IFA president has seen the governing body earn kudos for the reopening of Windsor Park, a successful staging of the Women's European Under-19 finals in addition to the National Stadium being named host venue for this year's Uefa Super Cup.
When asked how he reflected on his initial departure from the IFA in 2010, Martin said: "I reflect on 40 years of work for football in Northern Ireland, from the amateur game right through to international football.
"My journey in football has been over a 40-year period and I have enjoyed every moment of my time in football. This is just an extension to the work I have done in football and I'm looking forward to being Fifa vice-president."
He becomes the third Northern Ireland man to hold the Fifa vice-president's role after the previous terms of Harry Cavan and Jim Boyce.