Former Man United director Dyke appointed FA chairman to join Gill in power at the top of English football
Former Manchester United director and TV mogul Greg Dyke has been voted through as the next FA chairman, replacing the outgoing incumbent David Bernstein.
The 65-year-old will replace Bernstein when he leaves the post after two-and-a-half years in July – and takes the helm from Saturday July 13.
Dyke, who joins an FA board that already includes United's outgoing chief executive David Gill, told the FA website: 'Football has always been a big part of my life whether playing 11-a-side on Sunday mornings or six-a-side on Thursday evenings
Main man: Former United director Dyke will take the helm at the FA
'I was brought up in a household where my father was much more interested in whether or not you had won at football than whether you had passed your exams. In my case that was just as well.
'I still turn out to play six-a-side some Thursday evenings although at my age I seem to spend more time injured than playing.
'I supported my local team Brentford as a kid where my elder brother was a junior, watched York City while at university and followed Manchester United whenever I could.
Game over: Bernstein's (left) tenure at the FA will soon come to an end
'I got involved in how the game was run when I was first involved in buying sports rights as Chairman of ITV Sport in the late Eighties and later at the BBC.
'I learnt a lot in the years when I was on the Board of Manchester United and have seen the other side of the professional game at Brentford.'
Football man: Dyke's local team while growing up was Brentford - where he became non-executive chairman in 2006
The FA said in a statement: 'The Football Association Board has today unanimously approved the nomination for Greg Dyke to be appointed independent FA chairman.
'Dyke, 65, will take over as chairman from David Bernstein when he leaves the post after two-and-a-half years in July - subject to approval by the FA council. The appointment will take effect from Saturday, July 13.
'This follows a recruitment process led by FA independent director Roger Devlin (chairman of the nominations committee) with fellow board members Roger Burden and Keith Lamb.
Football man: Dyke with former BBC Director General, John Birt
'In a high-profile broadcasting industry career, Dyke has worked as director general of the BBC and managing director of London Weekend Television.
'Dyke has had a long background in football. He was a director of Manchester United in the late nineties and since 2006 he has been non-executive chairman of Brentford Football Club, the team he supported as a boy. He will relinquish this role at the end of the season to take up his new post at the FA.'
Red alert: United director Gill (seen with Dyke) is also on the FA board
Quote:
A FIT AND PROPER FOOTBALL PERSON
There is no doubting Greg Dyke's love of football.
He might have sat in the hottest chairs in television as director general of the BBC and managing director of London Weekend Television but he still turns out on Thursday evenings to play a local game of six-a-side at the age of 65.
Dyke was born in Hayes, west London, in 1947 and has risen from being a trainee reporter at the Hillingdon Mirror to become one of the most respected and resourceful television executives in British broadcasting.
His latest proposed appointment as chairman of the Football Association is no real surprise considering his reputation for leadership and getting things done.
Despite leaving Hayes Grammar School with one grade 'E' in A-level mathematics, Dyke has always shown an aptitude when it comes to business and budgets and being ahead of the game.
At LWT he made his name as the brains behind The Six O'Clock Show, fronted by Michael Aspel, with co-hosts Danny Baker and Janet Street-Porter, which is seen by critics as being the first example of British tabloid TV.
It led to him becoming programme controller at ailing station TV-am in 1983, where famously he embarked on a radical relaunch to take on the BBC in the ratings.
He devised a high-risk schedule based around bingo, celebrity gossip and horoscopes and, most crucially, the introduction of Roland Rat, a hand puppet which lured viewers in their millions.
As such he is also credited as the man who dumbed down British television but when Granada bought out LWT, Dyke is said to have made a fortune.
Dyke was among the consortium which successfully bid for the Channel 5 licence in 1995 and he became the first chairman of the new channel.
Yet while his television success will always be associated with Roland Rat his television demise came at the BBC, although he is remembered as a boss who cut administration costs and encouraged programme makers.
As such he was a rare example of a top executive who was universally liked and respected by the employees, even if he did lose the terrestrial rights to Premier League football to ITV during his tenure.
His downfall came when he resigned from the BBC in January 2004, following the publication of the Hutton Report which saw the BBC forced to apologise for errors in reporting the suicide of scientist Dr David Kelly.
In 2006 Dyke turned again to football, becoming non-executive chairman of his beloved Brentford, a club he has supported since childhood, although he also holds a large candle for Manchester United.
He served on the Old Trafford board as a non-executive director in the 1990s when he was the lone board member to oppose a takeover bid from BSkyB, a deal which was subsequently rejected by the Monopolies and Mergers Commission.
As such there is no doubt he understands the intricacies of footballing politics.
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http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2296880/Greg-Dyke-announced-new-FA-Chairman.html