Niall John Quinn (Irish: Niall Seán Ó Cuinn) honorary MBE (born 6 October 1966 in Dublin, Ireland) is a former professional footballer, and the ex-chairman of Sunderland A.F.C.. Quinn continued working at Sunderland AFC as an overseas manager until stepping down in February 2012. He received 92 caps for the Republic of Ireland national football team, scoring 21 times, and appearing for the national side at one UEFA European Football Championship in 1988 and two FIFA World Cups in 1990 and 2002. He played club football for English Premier League teams Arsenal, Manchester City and Sunderland during the 1980s, 1990s and 2000s.

Quinn is also heavily involved in the management side of horse racing.

Both Quinn's parents are from Thurles, County Tipperary. His father as well as his mother's brothers played hurling for Tipperary. He now lives in Kildare. He is married to the Irish model, Gillian Quinn, and they have two children Aisling and Michael. Gillian Quinn is a qualified Pilates instructor. In 2011 she appeared on Celebrity Bainisteoir.

Robert David "Robbie" Keane (Irish: Roibeárd Ó Catháin; born 8 July 1980) is an Irish footballer who plays as a striker for Los Angeles Galaxy and captains the Republic of Ireland national football team.

Keane has scored 53 goals for his national side making him the all-time record Irish goalscorer, having become the first Irish player to score 50 international goals in June 2011. He is ranked the 25th highest international scorer in the world. Keane was Ireland's top scorer at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in Japan and South Korea, with three goals plus a converted penalty in the shoot-out with Spain. With 115 full caps, he is Ireland's second most capped player of all time and is a member of the FIFA Century Club. He is the eleventh highest goalscorer in the history of the Premier League with 125 goals (as of 21 January 2012), (Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is tenth with 127) and is the ninth highest goalscorer in Tottenham Hotspur history.

Ellis Short (born October 6, 1960, in Independence, Missouri) is a Dallas-based Irish American businessman, president of Lone Star Funds based in Texas. He is the current owner and the chairman of the Premier League club Sunderland A.F.C.

Born in Independence, Missouri, Ellis Short is an American Businessman who grew up in Missouri.

Short attended the University of Missouri Rolla from 1979 to 1983. While attending he was a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity.

Short began his career at General Electric, before teaming up with business partner John Grayken at Lone Star Funds, a private equity firm based in Dallas, Texas. Short was the senior executive who ran the Asian operations.

In 2003, Short masterminded the takeover of the South Korean Korea Exchange Bank. This subsequently resulted in him being subject of an arrest warrant, which was later dropped. He subsequently retired from Lone Star, but remains President.

Short's current wealth is said to be around €1.05 billion.

In 2003, Short bought Skibo Castle for £23 million, which operates as a members-only hotel and country club in Scotland. The castle is famous for hosting Madonna's wedding to Guy Ritchie in 2000.

Peter Reid (born 20 June 1956) is an English football manager, pundit and retired player, who is currently without a club since his departure from Plymouth Argyle.

A defensive midfielder in his playing days, Reid enjoyed a long and successful career. He built his reputation as one of England's brightest midfield talents of the time at Bolton Wanderers, before signing for Everton in 1982. It was there that he enjoyed the most fruitful spell of his career, as he helped the club win domestic and European honours, including the Football League twice. He was voted as the PFA Players' Player of the Year in 1985 and came fourth in the World Soccer Player of the Year award, behind Michel Platini, Preben Elkjær and Diego Maradona. He also received his first senior England call-up that year, and represented his country at the 1986 FIFA World Cup and 1988 UEFA European Championship. He won 13 caps in total. Reid joined Queens Park Rangers in 1989, but moved on to Manchester City a year later to begin his managerial career.

Stephen Roger "Steve" Bruce (born 31 December 1960) is an English football manager and former player. Born in Corbridge, Northumberland, he was a promising schoolboy footballer but was rejected by a number of professional clubs. He was on the verge of quitting the game altogether when he was offered a trial with Gillingham. Bruce was offered an apprenticeship and went on to play more than 200 games for the club before joining Norwich City in 1984.

In 1987, he moved to Manchester United, with whom he achieved great success, winning the Premier League, FA Cup, Football League Cup and European Cup Winner's Cup. He also became the first English player of the twentieth century to captain a team to The Double. Despite his success on the field, he was never selected to play for the England national team. Commentators and contemporaries have described him as one of the best English players of the 1980s and 1990s never to play for his country at full international level.

Bruce began his managerial career with Sheffield United, and spent short periods of time managing Huddersfield Town, Wigan Athletic and Crystal Palace before joining Birmingham City in 2001. He twice led Birmingham to promotion to the Premier League during his tenure of nearly six years, but resigned in 2007 to begin a second spell as manager of Wigan. At the end of the 2008–09 season he resigned to take over as manager of Sunderland, a post he held until he was dismissed in November 2011.