PRESS RELEASE : Martyn Henderson OBE appointed interim COO for independent regulator for men’s elite football [December 2023]

The press release issued by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport on 13 December 2023.

Martyn Henderson OBE has been appointed as the interim Chief Operating Officer to lead the preparatory work to set up the new independent regulator for men’s elite football.

Henderson is currently the Chief Executive of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority (SGSA). He has been in the role for five years.

During his tenure Henderson has worked with fans, campaign groups and the industry to introduce licensed ‘safe’ standing in top flight football grounds in England and Wales for the first time in nearly 30 years.

He supported the live events sector during the COVID-19 pandemic, as the leader of the Government’s Events Research Programme, which oversaw the safe return of live events, for which he was awarded an OBE. He also guided the SGSA through an independent review, which found that the SGSA “is seen nationally and internationally as a centre of excellence on sports ground safety, that punches well above its weight”.

Henderson is the first appointment to establish the new independent regulator for men’s elite football, which will be tasked with improving the way clubs are financially and operationally run.

He will take up the new role in early 2024. Further appointments will be announced in due course.