The Southern Football Netball League Board is pleased to announce the appointment of Mike Palmer as its new Chief Executive Officer effective from 19 March 2018 for an initial three-year term. The appointment comes after a lengthy process to find the best possible candidate to continue to lead the SFNL on its primary long-term strategy of club sustainability and growth.
Mr Palmer has managed many of the world’s largest sporting events, with senior executive involvement in the 2000 Olympic Games, 2002 Commonwealth Games, 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2015 AFC Asian Cup, UEFA Champions League, UCI World Road Cycling Championships, Asian Baseball Championships and the ISAF World Sailing Championships. Most recently, Mr Palmer has served as the Chief Executive Officer of Football Federation Tasmania since 2014.
“After an extensive national search, the Board is delighted to announce the appointment of Mike Palmer. From the outset, Mike articulated a strong vision for the League that aligns with the key pillars of stability, engagement and growth, which our entire Board is focussed on,” SFNL Chairman Marc Gauci said.
The SFNL is in a period of rapid growth which currently boasts 36 Senior Men’s and 10 Senior Women’s football teams, as well as 81 Netball teams representing 26 individual clubs. The challenge for the League continues to be finding the right balance between stability and growth, which will be a key focus area of the new CEO.
Excited by his new appointment, Mr Palmer was quick to recognise the efforts of the current and previous administration in achieving the success the League currently enjoys.
“I have been involved in the business of sport both in Australia and across the globe and the common goal of any sports business is maximising growth in revenues, participation and engagement. This can only be achieved with unified and committed people at all levels of an organisation and I feel the building blocks are in place for the SFNL to continue to grow its base,” Mr Palmer stated.
“It is an appointment I am really excited about and I look forward to engaging with teams, players, officials and volunteers across the competition to get a strong feel for the challenges which may lie ahead.”
Mr Palmer commences at a significant time for the League with development of the Australian Football Hub at Linton Street Moorabbin well underway. As a key stakeholder in the re-development of Moorabbin Reserve, the SFNL Board is keen to realise the benefits of co-locating with St Kilda Football Club and the other talent pathway stakeholders in a multi-purpose complex.
“Mike will be a key figure in helping us establish operations at our new home base from late 2018. In the meantime, the Board and administration is focussing on plans for the commencement of the 2018 Men’s, Women’s and Netball competitions, as well as developing new commercial partnerships, media awareness and community initiatives,” Mr Gauci said.
Mr Palmer commences with the SFNL on Monday 19 March 2018.
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Former Football Federation Tasmania boss Mike Palmer has been announced as the new CEO of the SFNL.[/caption]
