Peter Filopoulos exit leaves Perth Glory on hunt for CEO and coach

Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has some massive decisions to make following the resignation of CEO Peter Filopoulos.

Peter Filopoulos is leaving Perth Glory to take up a position with Football Federation Victoria.

Perth Glory owner Tony Sage has some massive decisions to make after he was left without a chief executive following the announcement by Peter Filopoulos yesterday that he is leaving Perth to take on a job in Victoria.

One of the best sporting administrators in the country, Filopoulos will leave the West Australians next month to join Football Federation Victoria — a decision that comes just four days after he announced that Kenny Lowe had been sacked as head coach of the A-League club.

The loss of Lowe and Filopoulos comes at a time Sage is seriously looking to divest some of his sole stake in the club to Asian investors. The millionaire resources magnate is understood to be negotiating with Malaysian investor Dato Chan, the one-time chairman of Cardiff City FC, while several European syndicates and one from Abu Dhabi are looking to become possible partners.

Just how Filopoulos’s decision will affect the negotiations remains to be seen, but it is clear his resignation will leave a huge void Sage needs to fill quickly. Filopoulos has been instrumental in turning Perth around, particularly off the field, after joining three years ago following the salary cap scandal in 2015 that saw the club, second at the time on the table and certain of finals football, relegated to seventh spot.

Under his stewardship, Perth have enjoyed a 50 per cent increase in membership, a 20 per cent increase in revenue, a 25 per cent increase in corporate involvement and a 33 per cent increase in the club’s bottom line.

He helped bring in a world-class training and administration set-up as well as the club’s youth academy, which has been given a two-star rating while links with Asia have improved dramatically.

This has resulted in Glory going from an estimated worth of around $5 million to somewhere between $15m and $20m.

Filopoulos has had an extensive and highly successful career in sports and entertainment administration, having been involved with Swimming Australia, Etihad Stadium and AFL clubs Melbourne and Hawthorne.

But his first love has always been football, with one of his earliest jobs being chief executive of former National Soccer League club South Melbourne between 1993 and 1999. South are one of a number of clubs seeking to be included in the expansion of the A-League.

Filopoulos said he made his decision to leave Glory “with a heavy heart”.

“This was not an easy one for me or my family. We had three wonderful years with Perth and I am very proud of what I have achieved here,” he said.

“I have been privileged to work with some amazing and dedicated people here and am very appreciative of the support from Tony (Sage), the staff, the players, the volunteers, the members, the fans and sponsors.

“But now it is time to move on to a new chapter and return home to Melbourne.”

Sage paid tribute to Filopoulos and “the significant effect he had in the off-field progress of the club”.

“Peter’s hard work and dedication has been much appreciated by everyone associated with Glory. I am very happy that he can now rejoin his family, who moved back to Melbourne three months ago,” Sage said.

FFV chairman Kimon Taliadoros said Filopoulos’s extensive experience in sports administration and track record “will be vital to guide the federation through its next phase of growth”.

Meanwhile, resumes continue to flood into the Perth office as coaches from overseas and locally line up to replace Lowe.

Former Western Sydney coach Tony Popovic has been considered a strong favourite for the job but indications are that Sage is not keen on the former Socceroo, believing he did not show loyalty to the Wanderers by walking out before the start of the season to take on a position in Turkey.

Sage is wary of the possibility that Popovic, who has ambitions to coach overseas, could do the same if he was at Perth.