FA Chairman Greg Dyke Not Seeking Re-Election

Greg Dyke claims he will not seek re-election as Football Association chairman when his current term ends in June.

The 68-year-old said a more of a conciliatory figure than me would be needed to pick up the pieces after the fight to get the reforms through the FA Council. He will now leave the governing body in the summer. Dyke had initially said he would stand for a further year in office but opposition to proposed reforms from some FA councillors and a minority of board members has made him change his mind.

Dyke said this in a statement “In early January I announced I would stand as chairman of the FA for a further year although I wasn't certain this was the right decision for either the FA or me. During January, however, as work on options for governance reform crystalised it became clear to all of us that there wouldn't be a unanimous position on governance reform in the board. What now appears to be the case is that there is a majority position on the Board for much needed significant reform. I fully support this but I recognise it is going to be a fight to get through the FA council. I had already decided that if no reform was possible I was going to leave anyway this summer, a position I had shared with a number of colleagues. What I now see is that even if we get the reform through (which will be a difficult and divisive process although essential), I am probably not the best person to pick up the pieces following the inevitable discord”.

Dyke, a former BBC director general, has been FA chairman since July 2013, during which time he became an outspoken critic of FIFA under Sepp Blatter. He has also pursued policies aiming at modernising the FA and increasing the number of English players in the Premier League.