The Football Association's Management Team, working together with The FA Board, Council and staff, aims to deliver an effective and professional organisation for the greater good of English football.
The FA consists of a permanent staff, predominantly based at its headquarters at Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park in Burton.
The FA Board
Independent Non-Executive Chair: Debbie Hewitt MBE
Debbie was appointed FA Chair and Leader of Council in January 2022. She also chairs the FA Nominations Committee and sits on the FA Remuneration Committee. She is also non-executive chair of Visa Europe Limited, comparethemarket.com, and White Stuff Limited.
Debbie’s executive career was spent at RAC plc where she was group managing director and prior to that she was in retail management with Marks & Spencer.
She holds an MBA (distinction) from Bath University, was awarded the MBE for Services to Business and the Public Sector in 2011, is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (FCIPD) and was made a Chartered Companion (Chartered CCIPD) in September 2021, recognising outstanding and distinguished service to the people profession.
In July 2022 she was awarded the Honorary Degree Doctor of Business Administration by Nottingham Trent University, in recognition of her significant contribution to business and the public sector.
She was the first female MD of RAC plc in its 125 year history and is the first female chair of the Football Association in its 157 year history. In 2021, she was included in the Vogue 25 – British Vogue’s annual list of the UK’s most influential women.
In April 2023, she became the first elected female British vice president of FIFA Council.
Executive Director: Mark Bullingham, Chief Executive Officer
Mark was appointed as the FA’s Chief Executive Officer on 1 August 2019. He joined the FA in August 2016 and previously led the commercial, marketing, digital and participation functions at the organisation, where under his tenure annual revenue rose by over £100 million. He previously held the position of CEO EMEA for Fuse Sports & Entertainment, responsible for running one of the fastest growing businesses in the sector with a client portfolio including ten of the top 30 global brands. Prior to Fuse, Mark was the Director of Marketing for the America’s Cup Event Authority in San Francisco. He has negotiated over $2 billion of partnerships across a variety of platforms in sports, arts and music and is a qualified Level One coach involved in grassroots football. He's also a trustee of the Football Foundation and a director of the Premier League Stadium Fund. He sits on the FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship Board.
National Game Representatives
Sue Hough MBE
Sue was appointed onto the Board in July 2019, having first been appointed as a representative of the Women’s Football Conference on the FA Council in 2000. Sue chairs the Women’s Football Board and the National Game Board and also serves on the FA Women’s Super League and FA Women’s Championship Board, Women's National League Board and Disability Football Committee. Sue is the CEO of Dorset County FA and in 2013 received an MBE for her services to women’s and disability football.
Thura Win JP
Thura was appointed onto the Board in July 2021 having been first appointed as a representative of the Women’s Football Conference on the FA Council in 2007. Thura is an IT Consultant with over 30 years’ experience in system development and also a Magistrate in Hampshire since 2004. He was formerly a Director of Hampshire FA and is currently a Director of Sussex County FA. He is a member of the Women’s Football Board, Judicial Panel, National Game Board, Health & Safety Committee (Chair), Group Audit Committee and the Affiliated Associations Committee (Chair).
Professional Game representatives
Rick Parry
Rick was appointed onto the Board and Council in October 2019 as a representative of the English Football League and serves on the Professional Game Board. Rick is the Chair of the English Football League, a Vice-Chair of The FA and is one of the UK’s most experienced leaders in football, having served as both chief executive of Liverpool Football Club (1997-2009) and the Premier League (1991-1997). Rick was formerly a Board member of the European Club Association, has carried out two assignments for the UK government – joining the Sports Betting Integrity Panel in 2009 and advising the DCMS Select Committee on its football governance review in 2011 and has carried out a variety of football related consultancy projects in Saudi Arabia, Qatar, the UAE, Jordan, the US and Mexico.
Dharmash Mistry
Dharmash was appointed onto the Board and Council in 2023 as the representative of the Premier League where he serves as an Independent Non-Executive Director. He's an experienced technology venture capitalist, entrepreneur and Non-Executive Director. He started his career at Proctor & Gamble before moving to The Boston Consulting Group. Dharmash then spent eight years in media as Group Managing Director of EMAP Consumer Media and EMAP Performance, the consumer divisions of EMAP PLC. He subsequently co-led the delisting and sale of EMAP PLC from the FTSE 100 in 2008. Since 2008, Dharmash has been a technology venture capitalist - as a Partner at Balderton Capital and subsequently setting up the London office of Lakestar. Leading investments such as Revolut, Glovo, Infarm, Blockchain.com and LoveFilm and co-founding Blow LTD, which was sold to Holland & Barrett in 2021. He was previously a Non-Executive Director at the BBC, British Business Bank, Hargreaves Lansdown PLC and Dixons PLC. He currently sits on the Boards of Hamla plc and Rathbones plc.
Independent Non-Executive Directors
Kate Tinsley (Senior Independent Director)
Kate was appointed onto The FA Board in October 2017 and is the Senior Independent Director and Board lead for Welfare and Safety. As an FA qualified coach Kate is passionate about ensuring that children and adults at risk play in a safe, inclusive environment and naturally focuses in on questions in this area. Kate is currently Chief Executive Officer at MKM Building Supplies, having previously been the Divisional Managing Director of Ibstock Plc and prior to that led the Buildbase Group as Chief Executive Officer. She’s also served in senior finance roles at Saint Gobain, BSS PLC, and Grafton Group PLC. Kate serves on The FA Remuneration, Nominations and Group Audit Committees, as well as the Grassroots Advisory Panel.
Tim Score
Tim was appointed onto the Board in July 2021 and serves in his capacity as chair of the Group Audit Committee. He is also the chair of the Remuneration Committee. Tim chairs British Land and is the Senior Independent Director of Pearson. He is a former non-executive director at HM Treasury and on the Board of the National Theatre. He retired as Chief Financial Officer of ARM Holdings in 2015 and held senior financial roles at the Rebus Group, William Baird Plc, LucasVarity Plc and BTR Plc.
Mark Esiri
Mark was appointed onto the Board in May 2022. He is Co-Founder and current Chair of Venrex Investment Management. Mark has been a main Board Director of various portfolio companies of Venrex, including Charlotte Tilbury, Lyst, Notonthehighstreet, Opus Energy, Orlebar Brown and LoveCrafts. Prior to setting up Venrex, Mark was a partner at private equity firm Wand Partners Inc. in New York from 1993 to 2001, where he focused on early-stage investments in the internet, e-commerce, marketing services and technology sectors. He currently serves as a Non-Executive Director at Godolphin and Latymer School, Eton College and the Gascoyne Cecil Estates, as well as an Honorary Fellow at Royal College of Art, and was Trustee and Vice Chairman of Save The Children between 2009-2017. Marks serves on the Nominations and Remuneration Committees.
Jobi McAnuff
Jobi was appointed onto the Board in May 2022. Jobi had an illustrious playing career, spanning over 20 years and making over 750 appearances for eight clubs including Crystal Palace, Reading, West Ham United and Wimbledon. He has played in the Premier League, all three tiers of the EFL, the National League, and captained Reading and Leyton Orient to promotions. Jobi also made 32 international appearances for the Jamaica national team and was appointed as Leyton Orient’s interim manager during the 2020-21 season. He is currently a regular analyst for Sky Sports, BT Sport and the BBC. At the 2021-22 EFL Awards, Jobi was presented with the prestigious Sir Tom Finney Award, which is awarded to players who have had an outstanding career and contributed an exceptional amount to the EFL and wider football. In 2022, he was named on the Football Black List. Jobi will serve on the Nominations and Group Audit Committees.
Board observer
Jack Pearce - Vice Chair
Jack served on the Board from 2015 to 2023. He was first appointed as a Divisional Representative on the FA Council in 2001 and is a Vice-Chair of the FA. Jack serves on the Judicial Panel and Alliance Leagues Committee and is an observer on the National Game Board. Jack was formerly a player and manager of Bognor Regis Town FC and continues to serve the club as its general manager and Vice-Chair. Jack is the chair of the National League and a Council member of Sussex County FA as well as being a trustee of the Football Foundation.
