FA parks search for commercial chief
The Football Association has decided not to recruit a commercial director while it concludes a review of its business.
English football’s governing body has been without a commercial chief since Jonathan Hill left in September but has decided not to look for replacement while chief executive Ian Whatmore completes its wide-ranging review of the business.
Whatmore, who joined the Association last year, has been assessing its sponsorship and television rights models. According to some reports, he has been looking to cut costs by about 10% to help the Association with its financial planning as well to help it fund initiatives such as England’s bid for the 2018 World Cup.
Earlier this year, the FA and Wembley Stadium businesses merged to form the FA Group. The Association hopes the restructure will help it better leverage the earning potential of the national stadium and has plans to launch a museum to enhance stadium tours and grow its conference and banqueting business.
The FA has also recently signed sponsorship deals with McDonald’s, Mars andCarlsberg. It also recently reached an agreement with ESPN that will see the US broadcaster show live FA Cup football from next season.
However, it is still looking for a new title sponsor for the cup competition after Eon announced in September it was not going to renew its agreement with the FA after this season.
The decision not to replace Hill, who has since joined sports rights agency Kentaro as chief operating officer, does not affect Peter Daire, who will continue to lead sponsorship, while Simon Freedman remains head of marketing. Stuart Turner will continue in his role as head of broadcast.
