FA Appoints First Female Director
The Football Association has appointed Heather Rabbatts CBE as its first female non-executive director, while Roger Devlin also joins the board after a unanimous vote by the nominations committee.
Rabbatts is currently executive deputy chair at Millwall Football Club and was awarded a CBE in the 2000 New Year Honours list, while Devlin was a financial advisor to a number of football clubs.
The appointments will be put to the FA Council for full ratification early in the New Year.
Announcing the appointments, the FA’s chairman David Bernstein said: ‘I am naturally delighted by the decision of the board to endorse the appointments of both Heather and Roger. This is an important moment for The FA and represents a significant change to our governance structures.’
‘There were numerous outstanding candidates for the roles, but the important thing is that our decision was based on recruiting suitable individuals who are able to provide a strong challenge and supplement the existing range of skills and experience.’
The appointment will see the existing board extended from 12 to 14 members, also comprising the FA chairman and general secretary, five representatives from the National Game Board and five from the Professional Game Board.
