Yahoo News Barclays director Chris Pilling in shootout to become new FA chief
A director of Barclays' retail bank is a leading candidate to become the most senior figure in English football.
Sky News has learnt that Chris Pilling, who stepped down from the helm of the Yorkshire Building Society just over two years ago, is among a small number of candidates to replace Martin Glenn as chief executive of the Football Association (FA).
City insiders said that Mr Pilling, who has built a portfolio of non-executive roles since 2017, had emerged as the leading external contender for the FA role.
Reports this week suggested that Mark Bullingham, the governing body's chief commercial and football development officer, was also on the FA's shortlist.
It was unclear on Saturday whether any other candidates remained in the frame.
A decision about the appointment, which is being overseen by the FA chairman Greg Clarke, is expected to be made by the end of the season, when Mr Glenn is scheduled to step down.
Mr Bullingham, the former head of a sports marketing agency, is regarded as having done a capable job since his arrival at the FA in the summer of 2016.
His principal rival, Mr Pilling, is an unexpected contender for arguably the most important job in British sport.
Since stepping down as the boss of one of the UK's biggest financial services mutuals, he has joined the boards of Barclays' UK ring-fenced bank and Musgrave Group, the Irish food retailer and wholesaler.
Mr Pilling, who lives in Harrogate, is also the chair of Yorkshire 2019, which is organising the world cycling championship being staged in the county later this year.
His CV also includes spells at companies including First Direct, Asda, British Airways and Telewest.
The round-the-clock demands of the FA job mean that Mr Pilling would almost certainly have to relinquish some of his other positions in order to take it on.
Spencer Stuart, the headhunter, is handling the recruitment process on behalf of the FA's board.
Whoever succeeds Mr Glenn will inherit an organisation in much better financial shape than the one he joined in 2015.
He has overseen a vast increase in participation in women's football and substantial investment in St George's Park, the Staffordshire complex where members of England's World Cup-winning under-17 and under-20 teams were developed.
Mr Glenn's tenure also benefited from the England men's team reaching the World Cup semi-finals last year for only the second time since its victorious campaign in 1966.
The feelgood factor surrounding Gareth Southgate's side continued on Friday when England beat the Czech Republic 5-0 at Wembley Stadium.
However, Mr Glenn has also faced myriad challenges in the post, underlining the politically delicate nature of the FA chief executive's job.
A Wolverhampton Wanderers fan, Mr Glenn became embroiled in a row last year about comments he made comparing the Star of David to the swastika.
He was also forced to deal with the controversy over Mark Sampson, the former England women's team manager who was accused of discriminatory behaviour before being sacked in 2017.
The appointment of Mr Glenn's successor is likely to revive the interest of potential buyers of Wembley, the FA's home.
Last October, Shahid Khan, the Pakistani-American billionaire owner of Fulham FC, withdrew a £600m bid for Wembley after concluding that he would not command support from a majority of FA Council members.
Mr Glenn had backed the sale, arguing that it would provide hundreds of millions of pounds to improve grass-roots facilities across the country for future generations of footballers.
The appointment of a new FA boss may encourage Mr Khan to consider a fresh offer for Wembley.
Mr Glenn's role is not the only top job in English football hunting a new incumbent.
Sky News revealed this week that the Premier League had renewed its interest in Tom Betts , a senior ITV executive, as part of an unexpectedly convoluted effort to fill the post.
The FA declined to comment this weekend, while Mr Pilling could not be reached for comment.
