Greg Clarke’s resignation as the chairman of the Football Association after making a series of offensive remarks to MPs has given the governing body the opportunity to make a fresh start as it searches for a leader.
But while the Aston Villa and England defender Tyrone Mings said it would be “huge step” to appoint a black, Asian and minority ethnic person as Clarke’s replacement, the former FA chairman, David Bernstein, and Joleon Lescott were among those who feel it will take more than Clarke’s resignation to improve diversity at the organisation, with “structural change” fundamental to any progress.
Peter McCormick, a former director at Leeds and a former chairman of the Premier League, has stepped in as the interim chairman, although he is not expected to be a contender in the long term.
Here are six potential candidates to be the next FA chairman.
Bobby Barnes
A former winger for West Ham, Swindon and Northampton who retired in 1996, the 57-year-old is a highly experienced administrator who has worked for the Professional Footballers’ Association in a number of roles for more than two decades. He became the PFA’s deputy chief executive in 2006, working across a diverse range of sectors such as equalities, commercial, education and financial. He is a board member of FifPro, sits on FA disciplinary panels and has worked with Uefa’s strategic council.
Paul Elliott
Having been the driving force behind the FA’s new diversity code when it was introduced last month, the former Charlton, Luton, Aston Villa, Pisa, Celtic and Chelsea defender is perhaps the most high-profile black candidate. The 56-year-old sits on the FA’s board but does not have voting power. He is also the chair of the Inclusion Advisory Board. He has been a leading voice in speaking out against racism and has long campaigned for more diversity at all levels of administration in the governing body.
Baroness Sue Campbell
The 72-year-old is already bedded in at the FA, having become the head of women’s football in 2016 before changing roles to the director of women’s football in 2018. With a wealth of experience of sports and football administration, Campbell was the UK Sport chair for 10 years from 2003, overseeing the hugely successful performance of Team GB at London 2012.
Heather Rabbatts
The former Millwall chair became the first woman to be appointed as a director of the FA in 2011 after the Lord Burns review into the lack of diversity at the governing body published in 2005. The now 64-year-old was an outspoken critic of the FA throughout her time on the board and stepped down in 2017 citing her frustration “at the lack of progress for BAME coaches” in a letter to Clarke. She was appointed in a senior role at the global communications firm Four last month but has praised Elliot’s role in pushing through the new diversity code.
Eni Aluko
Having retired from football this year, Aluko is the director of women’s football at Women’s Super League club Aston Villa and has been an outspoken critic of racism in the game in her role as a broadcaster and columnist. The 33-year-old had two spells at Chelsea before moving to Juventus. She retired from international football with 102 caps for England after accusing manager Mark Sampson of making a racist comment to her. The case was initially dismissed by the FA before it later publicly apologised to Aluko at a select committee hearing of the department of culture, media and sport where Clarke had described allegations of institutional racism in the game as “fluff”.
Gary Lineker
It was Stan Collymore who first suggested Lineker had the “political cleverness and clout” to replace Clarke but the former England striker and Match of the Day presenter said he is “not a great organiser” and wouldn’t fancy his chances of landing the job anyway as an “old white man like me”. Lineker, who turns 60 at the end of this month, added: “I might be old enough to qualify for the FA at some point.”
