{"product_id":"champagne-football-book-mark-tighe-9781844884933","title":"Champagne Football","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE NO.1 BESTSELLER!\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'I read it in one sitting, it's a superb book' Eamon Dunphy,\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eThe Stand \u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A jaw-dropping tale of power and ego going unchecked' \u003ci\u003eTimes,\u003c\/i\u003e Best Sports Books of the Year 2020\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eOver the course of fifteen 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 \u003ci\u003eSunday Times\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eIn \u003ci\u003eChampagne Football\u003c\/i\u003e, 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 organization he led.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eChampagne Football\u003c\/i\u003e 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eWINNER OF THE AN POST IBA SPORTS BOOK OF THE YEAR 2020\u003cbr\u003e_____________\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Excellent' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Sun\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A jaw-dropping story ... brilliant' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Times\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Essential reading' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Daily Star\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Astonishing ... Side-splittingly hilarious'\u003c\/b\u003e \u003ci\u003eGuardian\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A damming account' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eSunday Independent\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'An instant classic, one of the all-time great Irish sports books'\u003c\/b\u003e Alan English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'Excellent ... includes staggering detail' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'A cracking read ... [An] incredible amount of jaw-dropping detail' \u003c\/b\u003eMatt Cooper  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'The most important Irish sports book of the year' \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003eIrish Daily Mail\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'A masterpiece' \u003c\/b\u003eTommy Martin\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e'\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn absolutely extraordinary book'\u003c\/b\u003e Eoin McDevitt, \u003ci\u003eSecond Captains\u003c\/i\u003e  \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e'Remarkable. The desperate story of Irish football but also a book about how Ireland works. Outstanding' \u003c\/b\u003eDion Fanning\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49521844912401,"sku":"GOR011044882","price":4.3,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49614591262993,"sku":"GOR012607835","price":3.9,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":49617670242577,"sku":"CIN1844884937G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49635044327697,"sku":"GOR011440485","price":4.1,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":49959771734289,"sku":"CIN1844884937A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ LIKE_NEW \/ SBYB","offer_id":49961917776145,"sku":"CIN1844884937LN","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":52107399168273,"sku":"CIN1844884937VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53180772385041,"sku":"GOR010927409","price":3.5,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1844884937.jpg?v=1751091590","url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/products\/champagne-football-book-mark-tighe-9781844884933","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}