Former Joey to head new FIFA department

Australian sports lawyer James Johnson, once a midfielder with the Brisbane Strikers and part of the Australian Joeys side that made the final of 1999 World under-17 Championship, will head a new department within world football governing body FIFA.

Johnson will head the new Professional Football Department which, a FIFA statement explains, “will be a central body for professional football activities and be responsible for the relations with professional football stakeholders, such as the European Club Association, FIFPro and the world leagues, as well as other parties of relevance on professional football policy matters.”

The Department will begin its work within the Legal Affairs Division.

Johnson, who trained as lawyer after his football career, has been with FIFA since May 2013 when he joined as a Senior Manager of Member Associations & Development.

Prior to that he worked at the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) as a Director of International Relations and Development having began his sports administration career as Player Relations Executive for Australia’s Professional Footballers Association.

Image: James Johnson/Twitter

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