Eddie McGuire calls time on his marathon tenure as Collingwood president

Eddie McGuire choked back tears on Monday night as he told Collingwood members that next year would be his last as the Magpies’ president.

Eddie McGuire will step down as Collingwood president next year

Eddie McGuire choked back tears on Monday night as he told Collingwood members next year would be his last as the Magpies’ president.

The AFL powerbroker assumed the role in charge of his beloved Magpies in 1998. McGuire has held the reins tightly ever since in a long-running presidency which balanced success with moments of controversy.

An emotional McGuire said he had told only his wife Carla and sons of his decision before addressing a forum of Magpies members.

“I have given everything I have to this position and now it is time for the club going forward,” he said.

“I will stand down at the end of next year and spend the rest of my time as president setting up a new era of Collingwood.

“I have given commitments to sponsors, governments and many people that I will remain at the helm in 2021 and do so with the responsibility of providing a smooth transition and a springboard into the future for our club in its senior leadership position.”

The highlight of his tenure was the 2010 premiership, which is the club’s most recent flag.

But he also orchestrated the controversial coaching succession plan which saw Mick Malthouse leave the club after leading Collingwood back to the grand final the following season.

Malthouse was replaced by favourite son Nathan Buckley, who saved his career when coaching Collingwood to the grand final in 2018.

The 56-year-old carried the nickname “Eddie Everywhere” at the height of his fame and has been a leviathan when it comes to the roles he has performed in the AFL.

McGuire managed to feature on Channel 9 as host of The Footy Show and a version of his Millionaire quiz show while also serving as the network’s chief executive officer.

This was combined with radio roles and the prominence that comes with serving as the president of Australia’s most famous football club.

But in recent weeks McGuire, who has also been a member of several boards in Victoria, has begun to reduce his commitments.

His abdication of the Collingwood presidency follows a recent decision to end a long-running tenure as host of Triple M radio’s weekday breakfast show.

It follows a testing 2020 where McGuire served as a member of the AFL’s coronavirus “war cabinet” and later spent the last two months of the season in Queensland working.

“I had planned to make this announcement at the end of the year but Covid put paid to many finally laid plans,” he said.

“In conjunction with the change in direction of my media life and the timing of my son’s schooling ending, the time was right and future strong for our club for me to make this call.”

McGuire built Collingwood into a leviathan club, with membership nearing 100,000 fans. But he has also been embroiled in several dramas.

An internal review has also been launched by Collingwood into claims of systemic racism after allegations raised by former Magpie Heritier Lumumba.

The Collingwood premiership player was aghast at McGuire’s handling of a gaffe in which he compared Sydney champion and former Australian of the Year Adam Goodes to a gorilla.

At the time McGuire offered his resignation while apologising to Goodes, but the Collingwood board supported him. Other controversies have arisen during his tenure.

There was significant anger among Collingwood fans following the recent trade period when Adam Treloar, Jaidyn Stephenson and Tom Phillips were forced from the club due to salary cap pressure linked to the botched deal to lure Dayne Beams back to the Magpies in 2018.

McGuire told members Collingwood was in a strong financial position despite the impact of the pandemic and well placed to be a successful club in the future.

“I can assure you, there is never a perfect time to be a president of a football club and certainly not emerging from a pandemic, so I won’t be handing off a hospital handball,” he said.

“That is why I’m making this announcement tonight, to give interested parties or more to the point, people we are interested in time to get their affairs in order and for me and my board to have the opportunity of providing a Barack Obama-style transition rather than a Donald Trump experience.”