Vacancy description
Key Information
- Division:CEO and Chair's Office
- Location:Home based
- Closing Date:1 February 2026
Independent Chair of The Football Association's National Game Board
Our Organisation
The Football Association (The FA) is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England, dedicated to promoting the sport and inspiring positive change through the game. We are responsible for developing and advancing football at every level, from grassroots to the professional game, generating revenue to support investment in English football.
The FA oversees all England international teams, including men's, women's, youth, and para football. We manage FA competitions such as the Emirates FA Cup, the FA Youth Cup, and the Adobe Women's FA Cup. Additionally, we oversee men's and women's leagues below the professional level. Our remit includes the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George's Park.
The National Game Board
The National Game Board (NGB) is The FA's senior committee overseeing the grassroots level of the game. This includes deciding on levels of funding, the promotion and raising of standards of participation and operational matters relating to County Football Associations.
The NGB currently comprises individuals selected from The FA Council who represent various stakeholders within the grassroots game and two independent members.
The Role
The FA is seeking to appoint an Independent Chair of the NGB. The primary role of the Independent Chair is to chair meetings of the NGB, bring objectivity to discussions and an independent point of view and judgement on matters within its remit.
The Independent Chair will:
- Demonstrate the values of The FA, leading the NGB with a collaborative style that ensures cohesion and that the Executive are held to account.
- Ensure that the NGB acts with integrity and takes all the different stakeholder interests into account as it makes decisions. This includes managing the trade-offs that will naturally arise from these stakeholders to ensure that decisions are taken in the best and long-term collective interests of football at this level.
- Be curious and provide challenge and support to other NGB members and the Executive team.
Ideally, candidates will be able to demonstrate:
- Experience in chairing the board (or equivalent) of an organisation
- A senior level business profile
- Knowledge of football at the grassroots level, such as from prior involvement with a league or club at this level.
Term
The Independent Chair will be able to serve a maximum of 3 terms of 3 years.
Time Commitment & Remuneration
The NGB meets 7 times per season including 2 x 2-day strategy meetings. Meetings are usually held midweek during working hours at Wembley Stadium.
An allowance can be claimed for attendance at each meeting of the NGB (currently £300/meeting) along with any travel or subsistence expenses incurred.
Definition of Independence
Independent means a person who is:
a) free from any close connection to The FA and a close connection shall be deemed to include, without limitation, the following:
i) the person is, or has been within the last six months, actively involved in The FA's affairs or held any position or role within The FA (including, without limitation, being a Member of The FA Council, a member of any committee of The FA or an employee, director or officer of The FA);
ii) the person holds, or has held within the last six months, a position or role with any Football Stakeholder (including, without limitation, being an employee, director or officer of any Football Stakeholder);
iii) the person has, or has had within the last six months, a Material Business Relationship with The FA; and
iv) the person has close family ties (including by way of being connected with an individual as a spouse, civil partner, former spouse, former civil partner, parent, step or adopted parent, grandparent, child, step child, adopted child, descendant, qualifying co-habitant or next-of-kin) with any directors, senior employees or committee members of The FA or any Member of The FA Council; and
b) viewed as independent from the perspective of an objective outsider;
How to Apply
We have retained Elevate Talent, a specialist executive search firm, to manage the initial stages of our recruitment process, including all screening and preliminary interviews. Accordingly, please send your application, including a CV and Covering Letter to FA-NGB-Chair@oneelevate.com by midnight on 1st February 2026. Any enquiries regarding the National Game Board or the role should also be directed to the above e-mail address.
The appointed candidate will be invited to observe National Game Board meetings during the 2025 / 2026 season and will officially start in the role from the 2026 / 2027 season.
The Football Association promotes equality, diversity and inclusion, and welcomes applications from everyone who meets the criteria. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please detail this in your covering letter.
ABOUT US
The Football Association [The FA] is the not-for-profit governing body of football in England. It is responsible for promoting and developing every level of the game, from grassroots through to the professional game, and generates significant revenue to support investment into English football each year.
The FA oversees England international teams across men’s, women’s, youth and disability football, as well as running the National League System and FA Competitions including the Emirates FA Cup, and the Adobe Women’s FA Cup, and the world-class facilities of Wembley Stadium and St. George’s Park, all with a purpose to inspire positive change through football.
Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally. It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most. With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
Now is the time to inspire positive change.
We currently work within a hybrid working model whereby the expectation is to work from your contractual location for part of the week, and as and when required by the team. The remaining days can be worked remotely. We will continue to monitor this model, and it may be adjusted in future if deemed necessary.
Your contract with The FA will specify a fixed location of Wembley Stadium or St. George’s Park unless the role is advertised as a homebased contract. The contractual location of this role can be found at the top of this advert on our FA vacancy page.
THE PROCESS
We believe that assessment and selection should be robust, fair, and inclusive.
Following receipt of your application and the closing of the application process, you can expect a period of circa two weeks for us to thoroughly screen and shortlist, ahead of any next stage and interview.
Please note, we receive a high volume of applications so this can vary but we ensure that our assessor panel reviews all applications, and no use of automated screening or AI is used.
At an interview, we want to ensure that we see the best of you as an individual and increase our understanding of your skills and experience relevant to the demands of the role. It is very much a two-way process with importance placed on the candidate experience so that regardless of outcome, you feel valued, and treated fairly and hopefully have a positive experience.
No process is ever the same, but we would like to create an environment that is welcoming and ensures the experience is as enjoyable as possible.
We tailor our assessment and selection depending on the nature and demands of the role. The FA Resourcing Team will provide you with as much notice as possible about the process and the format of any interview will always be communicated to you in advance, including what to expect on the day and who you will be seeing.
We often receive a high volume of applications, and for certain roles, we will supplement your application, utilising our on-demand video interviewing platform. On-demand video interviews enable you to answer preset questions, in the comfort of your own home or office setting and at a convenient time for you, giving us greater insight into you as an individual and the skills and experience you might bring to the role and working at The FA.
We also utilise Microsoft Teams for virtual interviews and of course host you at our world class venues, Wembley Stadium and our National Football Centre, St. George’s Park.
GROUP STRATEGY
WE HAVE MOVED FOOTBALL FORWARD.
From 2020 - 2024, we have – in collaboration with our key partners – been able to deliver meaningful change across the game.
From winning our first major tournament in over 50 years to delivering thousands of high-quality pitches to the grassroots game.
BUT WE CAN’T STOP NOW - AND WE WON’T.
This new strategy is about doubling down. Our game can tackle some of society’s core challenges. It can bring communities together, nationally and locally.
It can be a platform for inclusion, ensuring there is a place for all. It can get people active and promote wellbeing often at a time when we need it most.
With UEFA EURO 2028 – hosted in the UK and Ireland – on the horizon, we have an incredible opportunity to transform football across the country.
NOW IS THE TIME TO INSPIRE POSITIVE CHANGE.
Our ultimate purpose is to ‘Inspire positive change through football’ – everything we do ultimately ladders up to this end goal.
The 2024-2028 strategy focuses on tackling four long-term strategic challenges that will fulfil this purpose and drive real change across the game, our ‘Game Changer’ objectives.
Underpinning these Game Changers are then four activities and approaches that will enable us to meet challenges head on, our ‘Drivers’.
EDI STRATEGY
Our equality, diversity and inclusion (EDI) strategy forms an integral part of our long-term commitment to using our influence across English football to create a game free from discrimination.
A GAME FREE FROM DISCRIMINATION
Our 2024 – 2028 strategy outlines three fundamental pillars for delivering a game free from discrimination – Boosting Representation, Driving Inclusion and Tackling Discrimination.
These pillars ensure that our work uniting communities, improving lives, and inspiring positive change on and off the pitch will remain a core priority for English football for years to come.
We are a diverse workplace, aspiring to represent football across the country. The FA actively promotes inclusion and diversity, encouraging you to be the best version of yourself at work.
We welcome applications from everyone and are proud to be an equal opportunities employer. If you have any particular requirements in respect of the recruitment or interview process, please mention this during your application.
As part of The FA’s commitment to ensuring a safe environment for everyone in football, every employee will be required to complete a DBS check. The level of the check required will be based on the activity of the specific job role and in line with legislation and government guidance.
Share this page
Vacancy Alerts
Recommended Jobs
