John Delaney has been successful in the Uefa Executive Committee election with the FAI's chief executive gaining 48 votes to finish second behind Karl-Erik Nilsson of Sweden in the poll of national federation representatives in Helsinki.
Even with the 55 associations all voting and each having a number of ballots to cast, Delaney's total was high and he finished ahead of several of the European game's most influential players including former Manchester United chief executive David Gill and veteran Dutch administrator Michael van Praag, previously a Uefa vice-president who ran for the presidency of Fifa last year.
Former Poland star Zbigniew Boniek finished fourth with 45 votes in the ballot, in which a total of eight places were up for grabs with Servet Yardimci of Poland taking the last seat with 34 votes.
Delaney becomes the first Irish member of the influential governing body of the European Federation since the retirement of Des Casey back in 2002. The presence of an official from a particular national association is generally seen as a good thing for the game in that country with considerable spoils to be carved up.
The commitment involved might still prompt fresh criticisms of his salary at the FAI, however, with Casey having said previously that Uefa took up to 100 days of his time each year. The organisation is much changed in the intervening years but there will be a great many meetings, games, tournaments and other events to attend and it this is bound to impact on his day job.
Delaney can expect to earn well in excess of €100,000 in the new role, which is for a four year term, but it is unclear whether he intends to waive any part of his salary with the association here. He has previously justified the size of it by saying he earns every penny because he works so hard for it. "It is a 24/7 job, weekends as well," he told The Sun a couple of years back.
