Filopoulos the latest executive to exit Football Australia

Open Extended Reactions

Peter Filopoulos is the latest in a string of senior executives to leave Football Australia since the departure of former CEO James Johnson, with the federation also signalling an intent to "refresh" its technical leadership in the wake of Ernie Merick's departure from the now redundant chief football officer role.

First joining Football Australia as its chief corporate affairs, brand, and communications officer in 2020 and most recently serving as the federation's chief customer, brand and marketing officer, a Football Australia spokesperson confirmed to ESPN on Monday that Filopoulos was no longer with the federation.

- Merrick departs as further upheaval hits Football Australia

- A-League's latest crisis: Were Western United doomed from the start?

A former chief executive of Football Victoria, Perth Glory, and South Melbourne, Filopoulos is the third member of Football Australia's executive to exit since Johnson's departure in May, a month after chief of staff Alex Davani and chief football officer Ernie Merrick also left the business.

Filopoulos had been seen as a potential successor to Johnson, named as one of several potential candidates by ESPN.

In response to questions from ESPN, the federation also confirmed on Monday that Will Hastie, who had previously worked with Filopoulos at Football Victoria, and served as Football Australia's head of member federations, competitions and community, had departed, while both the roles of chief of staff and chief football officer had been made permanently redundant.

The latter move, the federation said, was part of a "refresh" of its technical leadership model; Young Socceroos coach Trevor Morgan -- who recently led Australia's men's under-20 side to a first Asian title, and who served as interim technical director between 2020 and Merrick's appointment in 2022 -- is set to serve once again as Australian football's technical lead.

"The role of chief football officer was dissolved as part of a refresh to our technical leadership model," a Football Australia spokesperson told ESPN.

"Trevor Morgan has stepped in as technical development lead, while continuing to fulfil his existing duties as head coach of the Young Socceroos.

"The technical development lead's role is to drive alignment across national team programmes, member federations, and player development environments, and work collaboratively with stakeholders across the ecosystem to establish a clear technical direction for Football in Australia."

Football Australia has confirmed that chief customer, brand and marketing officer Peter Filopoulos is no longer with the federation. FTBL

Before his departure, Merrick had been working on a new technical plan, including an overhaul of Australia's youth development systems, in addition to overhauling Australia's coaching education and implementing new player roster principles for men's NPL competitions that will come into effect in 2026.

It's understood that work undertaken by the former chief football officer but yet to be rolled out will be reviewed under the federation's new technical setup.

Speaking in the wake of the federation's annual general meeting in May, interim chief executive Heather Garriock had flagged that Football Australia may shed jobs in the months ahead in the wake of a record reported loss of AU$8.5 million, with the federation projecting it would return to surplus by 2026.

Stepping off the board to take up the position, Garriock has served as interim chief executive since Johnson announced his departure, with Football Australia confirming last month that it had partnered with consulting firm Egon Zehnder to conduct a global search for a permanent appointee. Ahead of the new chief executive's arrival, sources have told ESPN that Football Australia's remaining senior management has been working on a new "strategic plan" for the federation.

Garriock is expected to be one of the leading candidates for the full-time chief executive role -- applications for which will close on the final day of August -- with sources telling ESPN that an appointee is likely to be identified in late 2025 before commencing in early 2026.

Amid the wave of departures in the organisation, and the ongoing search for a permanent chief executive, Football Australia's "President's Office" -- led by chair Anter Isaac -- circulated an all-staff email indicating that the federation had launched a review of its governance framework, with a focus on clarification of board and management roles, complaints handling, and stakeholder engagement. Sources have told ESPN that this review was triggered after multiple concerns were raised by senior staff.

The review will be led by Garriock, Football Australia's governance advisor Chris Burke, and company secretary Stuart Corbishley.

Click here to read article