English Soccer Body Approves Nomination of First Woman to Board
The board of England’s Football Association approved the appointment of a woman for the first time since the world’s oldest national soccer governing body was founded in 1863.
The F.A. board unanimously agreed to add Heather Rabbatts and Roger Devlin as independent directors. The decision will now be put early next year before the F.A. Council, a 92-member panel responsible for major policies.
“This is an important moment for the F.A. and represents a significant change to our governance structures,” chairman David Bernstein said in a statement.
The appointments come after the publication of a report on soccer governance by lawmakers, who spent more than a year examining the sport. U.K. Sports Minister Hugh Robertson threatened government intervention unless reforms were made and the F.A., Premier League and Football League have said they’ll work together to suggest changes.
Rabbatts, 56, a former deputy chairman of second-division team Millwall, and Devlin, 54, a former banker and media executive, are the first independent directors to join the board.
“Having worked across media, business and football I hope to bring those experiences to my work at The F.A.,” said Rabbatts, who’s also held non-executive positions at the British Broadcasting Corp., the Bank of England and the Royal Opera House. Devlin has acted as a financial adviser to several Premier League clubs.
If the appointments are approved the existing board will expand from 12 to 14 members.
To contact the reporter on this story: Tariq Panja in London at tpanja@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Chris Elser at celser@bloomberg.net
Rate this Page