Sunderland women set to appoint FA's Gray as CEO

Sunderland women are set to appoint James Gray as their new chief executive officer following the recent takeover by Bay Collective. Gray currently works as commercial director at the Football Association and will begin his role at Sunderland in September. He will lead Sunderland's strategic and commercial performance, strive for financial sustainability and head up football operations. Gray will be reunited with former FA colleagues Kay Cossington and Anja van Ginhoven. Cossington is CEO of Bay Collective, which also holds a majority stake in Bay FC in the United States, with Van Ginhoven serving as the group's director of global operations. Sunderland aim to compete with world's best The former England masterminds looking to build a 'superpower' Gray has worked in sport for over 25 years and during his time at the FA has overseen commercial operations in the women's game, including the Women's FA Cup. He previously had roles at Barclays, Amazon, Disney and Manchester United. Last week, former West Ham manager Rehanne Skinner was named as Sunderland women's new technical director. Skinner, 46, has vast experience in the women's game, having held assistant managerial roles at both England and Wales. Bay Collective completed its takeover of Sunderland's women's team last month, acquiring a majority stake. Sunderland finished eighth in the WSL 2 last season. [BBC] New episodes of Women's Football Weekly podcast drop every Tuesday on BBC Sounds, plus find interviews and extra content from the Women's Super League and beyond on the Women's Football Weekly feed Get the latest WSL news on our dedicated page