London FA heralds ‘progressive new era’ with diverse board selection

The London Football Association (LFA) has moved towards a more representative board, with a third of its newly appointed members coming from black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds.

In a major overhaul of its board, London’s governing body for football announced 10 new non-executive members, half of whom are female.

Earlier this year, Lisa Pearce was named the first female CEO of the LFA.

“Our new board members’ wealth of diverse management skills, experience and backgrounds puts us in a very strong position and we’re looking forward to entering an exciting and progressive era for the LFA,” Pearce said.

New board members include Kirstin Furber of BBC Worldwide, Gabby Shirley of the Youth Sport Trust, Ruth Holdaway of Women in Sport and Paul Mortimer of Kick It Out.

Pearce added: “Our governance initiative attracted overwhelming support from the sporting and business communities and as a result, we received over 65 applications for the non-executive board roles. I was extremely impressed by the calibre of applicants and we’ve strengthened our board with a group of talented and highly qualified individuals.”

The reform in the LFA’s governance adheres to Sport England and UK Sport’s Code for Sports Governance which came into effect from April 2017.

Ruth Holdaway, CEO of Women in Sport, said: “I’m excited about the opportunity to build on the great work that has already been done to engage more women and girls in the game.

“As a new board, we’re committed to good governance and to ensuring we are making football inclusive for all Londoners.”

The new LFA positions include three independent non-executive directors, six non-executive football directors and one non-executive finance and risk director.

Independent Non-Executive Directors

• Ruth Holdaway, chief executive, Women in Sport

• Kirstin Furber, people director, BBC Worldwide

• Simon Hughes, previous LFA board member and former MP for Bermondsey

Non-Executive Football Directors

• Vivienne Aiyela, chair of the Anti-Discrimination Disciplinary Panel for the FA

• Gabby Shirley, development manager, Youth Sport Trust

• Paul Mortimer, professional players engagement manager, Kick It Out

• Louise Dorling, retired academic and London FA Council Member

• Ian Wallis, previous LFA board member, chair of the Cup Competitions Committee and South East Division

• Derek Harris, previous LFA board member, vice chair of the London Youth Division, chair of the London Youth Representative team, director of Development Committee

Non-Executive Finance & Risk Director

• Alistair Morgan, engagement director at the National Audit Office.