Football Australia and Australian Professional Leagues (APL) today announced the appointment of global football identity, Ebru Köksal, CFA, to the APL’s Board of Directors as Football Australia’s nominated board appointment.
Köksal is an experienced football and finance executive, an advocate for women’s football and gender equality, who is currently an Independent Non-Executive Director on the board of the UK’s Professional Footballers’ Association (PFA), and also holds positions on the boards of Women in Football UK (Chair) and Doublepass BV (Non-Executive). She is a senior advisor at the investment management firm J. Stern & Co, where she advises on the football finance transactions and manages relations with wealth management clients.
Ebru previously served as a member of the Equality & Diversity Advisory Board of the Scottish Football Association, CEO & Board Member of Galatasaray AŞ, and consultant for UEFA and FIFA. While working with FIFA, she led their Women’s Football Administration Course in 2015 as well as the Female Leaders in Football Workshop in 2016 on behalf of Football Australia.
She was the first woman to be elected to the Executive Board of the European Club Association in 2011. Prior to working in the football industry, Ebru had a decade-long investment banking career with Morgan Stanley, Citibank, and AIG Capital partners.
Commenting on the appointment, APL Chair, Paul Lederer said, “Ebru Köksal is a trailblazer in the football world and is one of the most experienced experts in the industry today. It is an honour to welcome her to the APL Board, and we are excited to leverage her global experience in finance and football to propel the professional game forward in Australia.”
Ebru Köksal said, “I am delighted to join APL at such an exciting time for the professional game in Australia. I very much look forward to contributing to the significant innovation and evolution that APL is overseeing. The timing could not be better with the FIFA 2023 Women’s World Cup just a year away. There is an extraordinary opportunity for the entire women’s football pyramid to deliver a legacy for the whole game, and women and girls in particular.”
Chris Nikou, Chair of Football Australia, was excited to welcome Ebru as the Football Australia nominated Board member, “Ebru Koksal is an outstanding, globally recognised and experienced football executive who brings a wealth of knowledge across many facets of the professional game. We are delighted to have secured Ebru to join the APL Board as the Football Australia nominated non-executive director and we look forward to continuing the strong collaboration with the APL to continue to grow the professional game in Australia.”
The Board appointment is the latest in a series of milestones for the APL, responsible for the operation, commercialisation, and marketing of professional football in Australia since unbundling from football’s governing body in December 2020.
Since APL took over the running of the professional game, it has completed its first independent season, signed a major broadcast deal with Paramount; secured naming rights partners in Isuzu UTE Australia and Liberty Financial for the men’s and women’s competitions, announced the expansion of the women’s league; and signed an historic Collective Bargaining Agreement with Professional Footballers Australia (PFA) that sets unprecedented standards for professional players in Australia.
Ebru Köksal, who is a graduate of Advanced Management Program from Harvard Business School and holds a BA in Economics and International Relations from Brown University, will commence her role with immediate effect following the unanimous support for her appointment by the APL Board.
