Jim Mullin resigns as president of Football Canada after six years in the job Achi-News

Jim Mullin is stepping away from Football Canada to focus on his job with the International Federation of American Football (IFAF).

Mullin confirmed Monday that he is stepping down after six years as president of Football Canada. His decision came hours before the annual general meeting of the national governing body.

“I now believe I can leave the organization in the capable hands of executive director Kevin McDonald, board chairman Peter Baxter and staff,” Mullin said. “I would not have left unless the future of the organization had leaders who could steer it into a new professional role.

“We’re taking an organization from the kitchen table to the boardroom table.”

Mullin will continue as IFAF general secretary.

McDonald was named Football Canada’s full-time executive director in June, while Baxter became the organization’s chairman in August.

Before joining Football Canada, McDonald spent nearly 20 years with the CFL in various positions, including its vice-president of football operations.

“Someone with a lot of experience as a leader in the CFL that I want on the ground running the day-to-day of the organization,” Mullin said of McDonald. “I think he can take it to where it needs to be as one of the (national sports organisations) and as an Olympic NSO that stands with the best of them.”

Baxter served as director of athletics and recreation at Wilfrid Laurier University for over 23 years before retiring in 2022.

He will be president of Football Canada until bylaws are updated in October.

“Peter is someone of tremendous integrity who understands the challenges of governance in this space,” Mullin said. “He will be able to respond to the new landscapes that exist in the world of sport in Canada with its various land works and he will be able to disperse them.”

Mullin’s decision comes three months after Canada won a third straight and fourth overall gold medal at the IFAF world junior soccer championship in Edmonton. This was the first tournament held in six years due to the global pandemic.

There were plenty of challenges in getting the event back on the field. Canadian soccer also had to add a second team to replace a country that withdrew.

“To be honest, a lot of nations were nervous about jumping back into international tackle competition,” Mullin said. “It takes money, it takes tremendous planning and it helps when you have partners like (executive director) Tim Enger and Football Alberta to put all that planning into.”

The organization steered a coaching change ahead of the tournament, promoting Warren Craney to head coach of Canada 1. He replaced Steve Sumarah, who led the program to gold in 2018.

“There were a lot of changes we needed to put through from the Canadian Soccer team and naming Warren Craney to take over turned out to be the right choice,” said Mullin. “I get to leave my last year with a world championship, which is pretty nice.”

Mullin spent eight years with Football Canada, two on its board and six as president. He was first elected to the position in 2019 before being voted in for a second term in 2022.

Mullin is the fourth person to serve multiple terms as president in Football Canada’s 142-year history. A large part of the job was trying to establish a consensus on national issues within an organization that includes a number of provincial bodies.

During his time with Football Canada and IFAF, Mullin also worked to get flag football into the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles. The inclusion of the sport is big for football globally, he said.

Mullin also helped Football Canada modernize its operation, comply with the Sport Canada Governance Code, establish a reserve fund and develop indigenous soccer in the country.

“Something I got out of the gate when I was voted in was to create a bigger tent for soccer in Canada,” he said. “It wasn’t just about the (provincial sports organisations), it was about the sport in general so bringing in a pathway for affiliate members was really important.

“Working with Indigenous leaders, over quite a long period of time, to be honest, to be there to help them get Canadian Indigenous Soccer off the ground was very rewarding. Working with (president/CEO) Kevin Hart and then seeing him and his people deliver that and create something that I believe is sustainable over the long term is another culture change within the sport.”

However, Mullin admits he will leave Football Canada with regret.

“The core regret is that we had to be reactive during the pandemic and that took us away from our plan,” he said. “At the same time, I wish the reforms we introduced in the last 18 months were introduced much sooner because we would be ahead of things.”

This report was first published by The Canadian Press on September 23, 2024.