David Gallop now CEO of soccer
David Gallop appointed new FFA boss
Former NRL boss David Gallop is the new chief executive of Football Federation Australia.
The FFA confirmed the departure of Ben Buckley, who has been at the helm of the FFA for the past six years, this afternoon.
Gallop will not be able to move into Whitlam Square immediately, leaving Buckley in charge of finalising an all-important new television deal.
Now the NRL has finalised its own deal, things are expected to move quickly in the broadcast negotiations, which may yet involve either SBS or Ten in a partnership with Fox Sports. The FFA is still hopeful of doubling the existing contract to $40 million a year.
The chairman of FFA, Frank Lowy, said Buckley first raised the prospect of moving on from FFA several months ago and the two had agreed the conclusion of the broadcast deal was a logical time to make a career move.
"The broadcast deal is at the heart of the future of football in this country and it has been the most critical aspect of my work for the past 18 months," Buckley said in a statement.
Lowy said Buckley had discussed Gallop with him about two months ago. Buckley had contacted Gallop soon after he had left the NRL and had discussed possible opportunities at FFA.
"These discussions created the opportunity for us to consider Mr Gallop as a successor to Ben," Lowy said.
Lowy described Buckley as one of Australia's finest sports administrators.
"Ben has worked tirelessly for football both at home and abroad and has steered the game through a difficult period of consolidation," he said.
Lowy said he was looking forward to working with Gallop to build on past achievements and grow the game into the future.
"Mr Gallop comes to the job well-equipped to meet the challenges ahead.
"He is an experienced sports administrator of high standing and is widely respected across all sports."
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