Mark Noonan (born 1965) is an American sports executive who served as commissioner of the

Canadian Premier League The Canadian Premier League (CPL or CanPL; ) is a professional Association football, soccer league in Canada and the highest level of the Canadian soccer league system. The league comprises eight teams, from five of provinces and territories of ...

(CPL) and CEO of Canada Soccer Business. Previously Noonan held marketing executive positions with the

United States Soccer Federation The United States Soccer Federation (USSF), commonly referred to as U.S. Soccer, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization and the official governing body of soccer in the United States. It is a full member of FIFA and governs American soccer ...

and

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

as well as serving as CEO of

Accra Hearts of Oak Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional sports team, sports club based in Accra (Greater Accra Region, Greater Accra), Ghana. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving ...

, a Ghanaian soccer club. Noonan attended

Duke University Duke University is a Private university, private research university in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity, North Carolina, Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1 ...

and was a member of the Blue Devils' 1986 national championship winning soccer team.

Professional career

In the late 1990s, Mark Noonan was the chief marketing officer of the

. During that time, the United States hosted the

1999 FIFA Women's World Cup The 1999 FIFA Women's World Cup was the third edition of the FIFA Women's World Cup, the world championship for List of women's national association football teams, women's national association football, soccer teams. It was hosted as well as ...

which set various records for attendance. Noonan later worked for

during a period of volatility for the league. Due to financial losses, MLS contracted by two teams in 2002 and reorganized the league into two conferences. In 2005, Noonan founded FocalSport – a sports and entertainment

agency Agency may refer to: Organizations * Institution, governmental or others ** Advertising agency or marketing agency, a service business dedicated to creating, planning and handling advertising for its clients ** Employment agency, a business that s ...

. In 2018, Noonan became CEO of

Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. Accra Hearts of Oak Sporting Club, commonly referred to as Hearts of Oak or just Hearts, is a professional sports team, sports club based in Accra (Greater Accra Region, Greater Accra), Ghana. Founded in 1911, the club is the oldest surviving ...

of the

Ghana Premier League The Ghana Premier League is the top professional association football league in Ghana organized by the Ghana Football Association and formed in 1958 to replace a previous league incarnation, the Gold Coast Club Competition which ran from 1933 ...

. The one-time

CAF Champions League The CAF Champions League, known for sponsorship purposes as the TotalEnergies CAF Champions League and formerly the African Cup of Champions Clubs, is an annual football club (association football), club football competition organized by the Conf ...

winning club had struggled on the field in the 2010s and lacked a permanent training facility. During his tenure, Noonan was responsible for the rebranding of the club's crest and securing a kit sponsorship deal with

Umbro Umbro is an English sports equipment manufacturer founded in 1924 in Wilmslow, Cheshire, and based in Manchester. They specialise in football and rugby sportswear featuring their ''Double Diamond'' logo. Umbro products are sold in over 100 c ...

. In 2019, Noonan left his position after only one year.

Canadian Premier League

On August 25, 2022, the

announced that Mark Noonan would be the league's next commissioner, replacing

David Clanachan David F. Clanachan (born 1962) was the commissioner of the Canadian Premier League (CPL) from 2018 to 2022. As Commissioner, Clanachan oversaw all aspects of the league along with the Canadian Soccer Business (CSB). Clanachan is also the Chairman o ...

who had resigned in January. Noonan began his term on September 1 as both CPL commissioner and CEO of Canada Soccer Business. He plans to grow the existing men's league and launch a women's league before the

2026 FIFA World Cup The 2026 FIFA World Cup, marketed as FIFA World Cup 26, will be the 23rd FIFA World Cup, the Anniversary#Latin-derived numerical names, quadrennial international men's Association football, soccer championship contested by the List of men's n ...

which will be co-hosted by Canada. On November 21, 2022, Mark Noonan announced that

FC Edmonton FC Edmonton was a Canadian professional Association football, soccer club based in Edmonton, Alberta. The club was founded in 2010 and competed in the North American Soccer League (2011–2017), North American Soccer League (NASL) from 2011 t ...

would not be returning to play in 2023 and that the operating rights had been revoked from the team's owner. FC Edmonton became the first CPL team to cease operations which they did after years of struggles on and off the pitch. The CPL voluntarily recognized the Professional Footballers Association of Canada as the labor union for CPL players on December 20, 2022. PFA Canada had been seeking recognition since their formation in 2020.

References

External links

FocalSport bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Noonan, Mark 1965 births Living people People from Westport, Connecticut Soccer players from Connecticut American men's soccer players Duke Blue Devils men's soccer players American soccer executives United States Soccer Federation officials Major League Soccer executives World Surf League Accra Hearts of Oak S.C. non-playing staff Canadian Premier League executives Men's association football players not categorized by position 20th-century American sportsmen