Former Premier League chief Richard Scudamore has reportedly been drafted in to try and save the Australia A-League.
Scudamore, who led the Premier League for 19 years, was due to receive a £5million golden handshake after stepping down from the role in November last year.
And he has landed a role as a 'special advisor' to all 11 A-league clubs and the competition's boss Greg O'Rourke, according to the Sydney Morning Herald .
The move is being seen in Australia as a coup for the league, with Scudamore credited as having overseen a period of phenomenal growth for the Premier League, with revenues having risen from £148million in the 1997-98 season to £3.2 billion this season.
The Herald says of Scudamore: "While his football business acumen is wide-ranging, Scudamore's specific experience in negotiating increasingly lucrative television deals for the EPL can only be of benefit to the A-League as it confronts a rapidly changing broadcast landscape at a time when ratings on Fox Sports are nosediving and general interest is flagging."
However, reaction to the news on social media was mixed - while fans in Australia saw it as a boost for the A-league, some British Twitter users bemoaned his £5m golden handshake from the Premier League.
One fan said, "Signing of the season? The the biggest coup Australian football has ever made", while another said: "If nothing else, the Premier League is a great case study of how to market and brand a competition well."
However, another suggested he "give back his £5m leaving gift and donate it grassroots football".
The A-League is in the process of transitioning away from the control of Football Federation Australia and towards an independent structure run by the clubs – much like the transformation of the Premier League back in 1992.
In quotes reported by the Herald, Scudamore said: "If anything, Australia has more potential to harness the economic and commercial opportunities available to the game.
"Certainly all the ingredients are there for significant and rapid development and growth – most importantly there is a groundswell of shared ambition in the Australian game, and that is as uncommon as it is vital."
