English soccer's Football Association (FA) has appointed Sarah Kendall as its new commercial partnerships head.
Kendall joins from the Fuse Sport and Entertainment agency (owned by Omnicom), where she had spent 10 years in total, the last three of which were spent as managing director in the UK (she was promoted to that position in February 2022).
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She confirmed the new role via LinkedIn earlier this week (April 15), after which an FA statement was released. She will join the governing body next month.
Kendall will report to James Gray, the FA's commercial director, and will be responsible for building and maintaining the FA's stable of commercial partnerships, as well as maximizing the commercial value brought in through the soccer organization's sponsors.
Gray said: "We are delighted that Sarah Kendall will be joining us … Sarah has over 20 years’ experience across commercial sport and sponsorship marketing, including at M&C Saatchi, Dentsu, and Omnicom. Sarah will bring a wealth of expertise to the role, and we look forward to welcoming her to the FA when she joins us in May."
The FA's last head of commercial partnerships was Stephen Hutchison (also formerly of Fuse).
Kendall joined Fuse in 2015, after spending about two years as a general manager at the MKTG agency.
Current brands in the FA's commercial partner portfolio include the likes of EE, Emirates, Adobe, M&S, Chase, and Google.
In terms of significant commercial activity at the soccer governing body over the last 12 months, August 2024 saw the Emirates airline extend as title sponsor of the iconic FA Cup men's knockout competition, through 2027-28.
