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John O'Neill (businessman)

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John O'Neill is an Australian sporting administrator. He has been involved with both rugby union and football (soccer) at the national level.

He was formerly CEO of the Australian Rugby Union, instrumental in staging the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In 2004 O'Neill was appointed head of the newly created Football Federation Australia by businessman Frank Lowy, which he has now quit [[In 2004 O'Neill was appointed head of the newly created Football Federation Australia by businessman Frank Lowy, a position he will remain in until March 2007.[1].

Rugby union

His tenure as the ARU culminated in the organisation of the 2003 Rugby Union World Cup which made the ARU a handsome profit of over 30 million dollars. [2] A genius of sport's organisation, O'Neill was named Sport Executive Of The Year 2003.[3] O'Neill left the ARU just after the World Cup.[4] ending his contract a year early.[5]

In 2004, he defended the ARU over an argument between it and the NSWRU over rugby league footballer Andrew Johns.[6]

Football (soccer)

Within a week of leaving the ARU, O'Neill was appointed by what is now the Football Federation Australia to help reorganise their game. The Australian Soccer Association had at that point debts of over A$16 million a year and its national competition had an average attendance of little more than 4000. Its previous administration was overturned with Frank Lowy taking over the reins to create a new national football competition.

O'Neill has been instrumental in creating a much higher profile for football (soccer). O'Neill oversaw the introduction of the A-League which reduced the number of teams in the national competition to 8, representing the economically sound regions of Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide, Newcastle, New Zealand and the Central Coast of New South Wales. The first year of the A-League saw the competition average over 10000 per game and the grand final sold out at Aussie Stadium in Sydney. This was relatively successful for football (soccer) despite being far behind the Australian Football League and National Rugby League averages.

Nationally, O'Neill had guaranteed Australia coach Frank Farina's job to the World Cup,[7] but after a poor Confederations Cup campaign he sacked Farina and was instrumental in securing Guus Hiddink as the national team coach. Under Hiddink's guidance, Australia did better than expected, not only qualifying for the 2006 FIFA World Cup, but finishing 2nd in group F to progress to the round on 16. Australia was knocked after contentiously losing to Italy,[8] the eventual world cup winners.

On August 29, 2006, O'Neill announced his decision not to seek a renewal of his contract, which expires in March. Citing personal reasons for his decision to step down, he described his involvement with football as "an exhilarating ride and while we’ve achieved so much, the potential to take the game even further is enormous".[9] FFA chairman Frank Lowy paid tribute to O'Neill, saying that he "established the foundation for 'New Football' and he's achieved tremendous success during the past three years".[10]

Following reported tension between soccer chief Frank Lowy and John O'Neill, O'Neil has quit.[[In 2004 O'Neill was appointed head of the newly created Football Federation Australia by businessman Frank Lowy, a position he will remain in until March 2007.[11]

References

  1. ^ "O'Neill quits as football boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5:27PM 2006-08-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ "World Cup hailed as best ever". BBC Sport. 2003-11-24. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  3. ^ "John O'Neill Named Sport Executive Of The Year". Australian Rugby Union. 2003-03-13. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  4. ^ Manning, Rollo (2005-12-19). "The view from Australia – wrap of 2005". Scrum.com. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  5. ^ Weidler, Danny (2003-12-14). "Why 'Mr World Cup' decided to walk". Sydney Morning Herald. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  6. ^ "O'Neill admonishes attacks on ARU". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2004-06-01. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  7. ^ "Farina's contract safe in cup campaign - O'Neill". Sydney Morning Herald. 2005-02-06. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  8. ^ "Socceroos' hopes dashed in final minutes". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 2006-06-27. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  9. ^ "John O'Neill resigns as FFA boss". News.com.au. 5:23PM 2006-08-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  10. ^ "John O'Neill resigns as FFA boss". News.com.au. 5:23PM 2006-08-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  11. ^ "O'Neill quits as football boss". The Sydney Morning Herald. 5:27PM 2006-08-29. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
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