English soccer is looking for a new chief executive after its incumbent Martin Glenn announced that he’s to step down from the job in May 2019.
Glenn will have been in the role for four years and can point to a record that has seen England’s Football Association (The FA) see a 40 per cent increase in revenue, which has enabled it to invest record amounts into the game at all levels.
This has also led to increased funds allocated to England’s showpiece domestic cup competition, the Emirates FA Cup. Prize money for both the men’s and women’s competitions has doubled to £3.6 million ($4.55 million) for the men’s version during under Glenn’s tenure.
“When I accepted the role of CEO at The FA, I was tasked with improving the effectiveness of the organisation and making it financially secure,” said Glenn in a statement on Thursday.
During his tenure Glenn also finalized a 12-year extension with sportswear brand Nike until 2030. The deal will see Nike manufacture kit for England’s 24 various national senior and youth soccer teams and is worth an estimated £400 million ($5.05 million) plus performance-related bonuses.
Some of those will have been achieved thanks to England’s men’s and women’s senior teams reaching World Cup semi-finals in 2018 and 2015 respectively. Glenn has also overseen success for England teams at youth level as well. The men’s Under-17 and Under-20 teams both won their age-group at recent World Cups.
“I will leave feeling proud of the success of the performance of all the England teams,” he added.
According to The FA’s latest set of financial results from 2017, the agreement of a new international broadcast deal for England international matches enabled a record £127 million amount of investment into grassroots soccer. In addition, the national soccer training facility of St George’s Park, located in the English East-Midlands continues to be a development base for future English soccer talent.
“I am confident that we have established in St. George’s Park, a world class centre which will ensure that the teams will continue to build on their current successes,” Glenn also said.
Away from those successes, Glenn also had to manage the fallout from England men’s manager Sam Allardyce being sacked after just one game in charge, and the dismissal of women’s manager Mark Sampson, in the wake of “inappropriate and unacceptable behaviour” evidence towards female players.
Glenn also was forced to apologize for his own controversy in March this year, when he compared the Jewish Star of David to a Nazi Swastika.
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