FA chair Greg Dyke steps down over reform opposition

Greg Dyke, the chair of the football+Association'>Football Association (FA), has announced he is to step down in the summer after conceding that the governance reforms he desires are unlikely to be implemented.

Dyke will step down after July’s Summer FA Council meeting, bringing his tenure up to three years since he took the role from David Bernstein in July 2013.

The former BBC director general has called for reforms to the FA’s structure of governance that would release more funds for grassroots and coaching, which are believed to be unpopular within some sections of the organisation.

Making a statement to announce his decision, Dyke said it was “clear” that there would not 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,” he said. “I fully support this but I recognise it is going to be a fight to get through the FA Council.”

Dyke said the FA was in a “dramatically better financial position” than it was prior to his appointment with a “much stronger executive team”. He also pointed to the plan to build all-weather pitches and a change to the coaching education structure.

“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,” he added. “What I now see is that even if we get reform through, I am probably not the best person to pick up the pieces following the inevitable discord.”