Capital Football will go back to the drawing board after missing out on their preferred candidate for chief executive.
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In the interim, chairperson Fran Sankey has stepped up - in a voluntary capacity - to cover some of the duties vacated by the former chief executive Phil Brown.
ACT soccer's governing body has re-advertised to fill the top job and will also look back at some of the previous applicants.
It's a crucial appointment for Capital Football with the Home of Football development at Throsby about to go to tender.
Sankey said they'd been close to landing their next boss, but the applicant decided not to take the job.
She said that was a better outcome than if they'd taken it and then walked away.
"We were in discussions with our preferred candidate and their circumstance changed and they have now declined the offer," Sankey told The Canberra Times.
"It's a better outcome than somebody starting and the going, 'It's not working'.
"We are re-advertising. We want it to be the right person - there's a lot happening in football.
"We've got some major projects with Throsby, Canberra United a key program and the Kanga Cup - we're trying to celebrate our 30th anniversary.
"I'm calling it 3.0 - last year was our 30th anniversary, but it got cancelled twice [due to COVID-19] so we're going again this year."
![Capital Football chairperson Fran Sankey is helping cover some of the CEO responsibilities. Capital Football chairperson Fran Sankey is helping cover some of the CEO responsibilities.](/images/transform/v1/crop/frm/reqbnGrLXyZFax2TwSi3Na/f86cb1f0-8c88-4739-b1f5-6bbf5b6dc7b2.jpg/r1860_0_4310_3000_w1200_h678_fmax.jpg)
Sankey has stepped into the breach in her own free time.
She said because she's on the board she's not allowed to be a Capital Football employee, which was why she's working as a volunteer.
Brown departed the organisation on December 17, ending more than five years in the role.
Sankey said the various department heads were continuing to do their roles and she was just providing support by taking on some of Brown's previous responsibilities.
It's something Sankey said board members in other state organisations had also done.
"I'm steering the ship. Constitutionally, as a director, you can't be an employee of the company," she said.
"Board positions are voluntary roles so because I've got capacity as my part-time role [as a public servant], as a volunteer, I've been authorised by the board to deal with day-to-day matters the department heads couldn't looks after - things the CEO would normally look after.
"It's a short-term arrangement."
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With the ACT government set to call for bids in the coming months, it's important Capital Football has the right person in charge to help oversee the $33.5 million development.
It's expected to be completed mid 2023 - ahead of next year's Women's World Cup.
The development has had some setbacks, largely due to the creek that runs through the block of land.
But the government provided a budget boost of $9 million last year to cover the cost of engineering works to help overcome that.
While Canberra won't host any World Cup games, it's hoped it will be the training base for at least one of the 32 teams that qualifies for the tournament - held in Australia and New Zealand.
"We're hoping it could be in the next month or so and we're still on track for mid next year," Sankey said.