The Football Association has confirmed the appointment of Greg Clarke as its chairman, in succession to Greg Dyke, at a specially convened council meeting at Wembley, with the new man to take up the post just before England’s World Cup qualifier in Slovakia on 4 September.
Clarke, who was chairman of the Football League for six years, had been approved by the FA’s board last month but was ratified in the role only on Wednesday. Clarke, who said he is “delighted”, will travel next weekend with Sam Allardyce’s senior squad to Slovakia, where the national team begin their Group F campaign at the Antona Malatinskeho stadium in Trnava.
“I’m delighted to be confirmed as the next chairman of the FA and I’m relishing the challenge,” Clarke said. “My experience as a council member for the FA has given me an insight into the excellent work this organisation undertakes at every level of the game. It’s an honour for me to be joining at such a pivotal point in its recent history.
“My job is to oil the machine, to make sure the stakeholders agree a common agenda and then strive to achieve that. My view of the football is we leave it to football people. Sam [Allardyce] will pick the team and set the objectives and get my support. I wasn’t part of the selection panel that selected him but if I had have been picking the England manager, it would have been an Englishman and it would have been Sam Allardyce.”
Clarke, whose business career has included spells at Cable & Wireless, Bupa, the Met Office and a FTSE 250 company, Redefine International, is also a former chairman of Leicester City – the club he supports – where he worked alongside the FA’s chief executive, Martin Glenn. During his time at the Football League, which ended when he stepped down in June, Clarke tried to overhaul its structure and make it more commercially successful.
An FA nominations committee, chaired by the independent director Roger Devlin and including the acting chairman David Gill and leader of the council Barry Bright, recommended Clarke to the governing body’s board for the leading position in July.
“The board was in full agreement that Greg was the right appointment to become the new chairman of the FA, particularly with respect to his successful tenure as chairman of the Football League,” said Devlin at the time. “He has the relevant experience and strong credentials to help the organisation and can play a key role in bringing all parts of the English game closer together.
“I am sure Greg will rise to the challenge and make a positive impact at all levels of the game, including the significant investment being made in the grassroots, the work being done across the elite England teams and the day to day operations at our St George’s Park and Wembley homes.”
The 58-year-old has been quick to point out how he differs from Dyke, who stepped down after three occasionally controversial years in charge earlier this summer having set England the target of winning the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. “[That’s] not my target,” Clarke said in an interview with Sky Sports News. “Sam sets the football target and I will line up with what he wants to achieve. Greg [Dyke] is a capable person. In my view he was a very good chairman of FA. But I’m a different sort of chairman. I’m the sort of chairman who listens a lot, who builds a consensus and then takes responsibility for delivering that.”
Gill, the former Manchester United chief executive, will now resume his duties as vice-chairman for the organisation. Allardyce, who was appointed as successor to Roy Hodgson last month, will name his first squad on Sunday for the game in Slovakia.
