Premier League boss Scudamore stuns English game by announcing plan to quit
The English Premier League is looking for its first new boss in almost two decades after executive chairman Richard Scudamore announced that he would quit by the end of the year. The 58-year-old has been in charge of the league since November 1999, having joined after a two-year stint as chief executive at the Football League.
During his time in charge, the league has enjoyed enormous financial growth and booming popularity abroad.
In a statement, Scudamore said: “It’s an absolute privilege to have been allowed to enjoy this role for so long, it is too much fun to be called a job.
“Football is an intoxicating environment and therefore difficult to give up being so involved, but my passion for what football means to so many and the positive impact it can make will never diminish.”
He then thanked the top flight’s past and present clubs and his Premier League colleagues for their support, and singled out Sky for being the league’s key broadcast partner since 1992 – their relationship has been symbiotic, with both parties benefiting enormously.
Scudamore added that he has no plans to retire but did not say what he would do next beyond spending more time with his family and friends and seeing more of Bristol City.
The news was announced after a dramatic day at the league’s annual summer meeting, where Scudamore was able to announce that the league has completed the sale of its domestic broadcast rights for 2019-22 and reached a compromise on how to distribute its burgeoning international rights income. Scudamore goes with his stock high. While complaints can be made about the Premier League’s failure to improve England’s international fortunes, the economic chasm that exists between it and the rest of the English game, the nagging feeling that the product on the park does not always match the marketing and the league’s diminishing returns to European club competitions, it is very hard to lay all of that at Scudamore’s door and nobody can argue with the accounts.