NISOA is thrilled to announce that Alan Kelly will be our keynote speaker at the 2023 Summer Summit in New York! Alan has an extensive resume on and off the field and was a FIFA referee from 2002-2013

Alan has been selected to referee the League of Ireland Cup Final (2000), FAI Cup Final (2003/2009), and the Setanta Sports Cup Final (2011). He has been widely regarded as Ireland’s top referee and was the first ever winner of the Player’s Football Association of Ireland’s Referee of the Year Award in 2006 and went on to win the award again five more times. After his last appearance on the pitch in Ireland, Alan continued his career in the MLS and was selected to referee the MLS Cup Final twice and was voted MLS Referee of the Year three times. 

Internationally, Alan has refereed several UEFA Champions League matchups and was a regular appointee to Europa League Group Stage matches and international friendlies. In 2019 Kelly was selected to be a VAR for the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Poland and was later appointed to be the VAR for the final of the tournament, during which Ismail Elfath was the referee and Corey Parker and Kyle Atkins were the assistant referees

In 2021, PRO announced hiring Alan as the Senior Manager of Referees and Alan has since been promoted to the PRO Director of Senior Referees. 

We are thrilled to have Alan with us in July and cannot wait to see all of you there as well!