Presuming Daniel Farke can take Leeds United over the line and secure automatic promotion, Elland Road will not only be home to a new division next season.
It will also be home to a new Executive Vice Chairman.
On Friday afternoon, a poorly-kept secret finally became public knowledge.
Angus Kinnear was keen to pursue a fresh start away from Leeds United. And, after eight years at Elland Road, it has been confirmed that Leeds’ long-serving chief executive will leave West Yorkshire and take over as Everton’s CEO on July 1st.
While bidding a grateful farewell to Kinnear, meanwhile, chairman Paraag Marathe also gave a warm welcome to Peter McCormick.
Peter McCormick returns for a second spell at Leeds United
“I want to thank Angus for his commitment and service for so many years, and for being a fantastic steward and leader of the club,” Marathe writes in his official statement, via the Leeds United website.
“As we move forward, I am confident that the incredible talent across our team will sustain our success. In the meantime, I look forward to continuing to work with both Angus and Peter as we fight for promotion in the coming weeks.”
While Kinnear will see out the remainder of the season at Elland Road before crossing the Pennines, McCormick joins immediately after resigning from a role with the Premier League.
Leeds say that McCormick will play a vital role in supporting Marathe and the club’s other senior executives, while providing a crucial voice ‘regarding strategic planning, stadium redevelopment and commercial matters’.
The San Francisco 49ers are looking to expand Elland Road well beyond it’s current capacity. McCormick, then, is likely to have an important say in that particular department.
The Athletic describe McCormack as a ‘vastly experienced’ operator in the world of law.
He worked as the interim chairman of the Football Association from November 2020 and January 2022, taking over from Greg Clarke. He was then appointed unanimously as the interim chairman of the Premier League, a role he held until January 2023.
McCormick also has an OBE for services to charity and was named as the inaugural Yorkshire Lawyer of the Year.
Leeds’ new Executive Vice Chairman is a ‘towering figure’
“Peter McCormick is a towering figure within football,” Chambers UK say of McCormick, a senior partner at the Harrogate-based McCormick’s solicitors.
“Opponents, colleagues and clients alike are quick to attest to the value of the ‘practical, common-sense advice,’ provided by ‘a lawyer who not only understands football, but always sees the commercial realities as well.'”
Leeds’ newly-appointed Executive Vice Chairman has also been labelled the ‘doyen of football law’ by Legal 500. An ‘outstanding sports lawyer’ who’s firm ‘punches way above it’s weight’.
Upon their expected return to the big time next season, Leeds United will be hoping to do the same on the pitch amongst the likes of Liverpool, Arsenal and Manchester City.
This is, interestingly, McCormick’s second spell working behind the scenes in West Yorkshire. He served as a non-executive director at Elland Road in the early-2000s too, and returns with a wealth of experience under his belt from the footballing sector.
Speaking to the Law Gazette in 2017, McCormick described football as ‘one of my other great passions’ apart from the legal game.
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