The Limestone Coast Football Association enters the 2022 season full of excitement with a new-look board steering the ship.

Just months after guiding Gambier Centrals to a special premiership double this year, Chris Fleetwood now oversees the entire competition after being elected as the new CEO at a special AGM last week.

Fleetwood leads an eight-person board where the only incumbents are secretary Naomi Ashenden-Tye, plus respective women’s and men’s directors Brian Corfield and Bruno Vadori.

Along with Fleetwood the new faces are competitions director Christopher Harris, referees director Eric Driscoll, treasurer Leanne Wallace and sponsorship and marketing director Frank Wilcox.

The new CEO has more than five decades of experience in the game and takes over from Eric Nieto.

Fleetwood said the opportunity came about from his time leading the Lions to glory.

“When I was the head coach of Centrals I had dealings through the club in terms of what was happening in the league and I guess the time was right for a change,” he said.

“I was approached and asked whether I will be a candidate or not and it just went from there.

“Once I said yes, it was just a matter of putting all of the things into place.”

Fleetwood has never run an entire association before, but is confident he has the tools to tackle the challenge head on with more than half a century of soccer exposure.

“I have not been a CEO of a whole league, but I have done lots of administration with clubs and schools over many years,” he said.

“I have also been the principal of a school, so the league is very manageable in terms of the administration skills I offer.”

Centrals’ Steeline Cup winning campaign was interrupted by the stop-start nature of the fixture and this was when Fleetwood believed he could make a difference.

“At the start of the season I was really unhappy because right at the start of the season we were made to have a bye and I could not understand what the situation was there,” he said.

“I started to get a little more involved behind the scenes and I realised things needed a little bit of a shake up to get the sport promoted like it needed to be.

“The clubs are in a good position and I just think we need the right type of leadership to move forward which I think is what I can offer.”

Fleetwood has many objectives on his list, but in an exciting sign for the game, he has junior development at the top.

“We want to grow the game really heavily in the juniors,” he said.

“There will be a big emphasis on growing the game from five years up and looking at things we can offer kids the opportunity to play the biggest game in the world.

“I want to make football a sport of choice for kids down here and there is no reason why it can’t be bigger.

“Once we have in place the right type of program and good initiatives happening, we will attract a lot more juniors.

“We are constantly turning kids away and want to make sure that does not happen.

“The next one will be making a clear pathway for kids to reach the next level.

“We want to link more closely with Football SA and developing the centre of excellence here, so the clubs are involved and get a big regional facility.”

This season was the first time the women’s side of the game was on the same platform as the men’s in the Limestone Coast.

The move to bring the female players under the same umbrella was hailed as a success and Fleetwood wants to take it to the next level with the best in the world coming to Australia in 2023.

“The other area we really want to grow is the women and girls with the World Cup coming to Australia,” he said.

“In 2023 football is going to be on television and the girls are going to be looking at world stars, so we have to be on the forefront to capitalise on those initiatives.

“A lot of things are coming down from Football SA in terms of promoting girls and women to be involved.

“We will keep promoting the women alongside the men because that was a big success with last year’s Grand Final our biggest ever.”

Another area in focus is the structure of the season which currently includes a three-week Steeline Cup and 10-round premiership season, but Fleetwood wants to make it bigger and better with Portland likely returning as the board braces for a busy summer.

“It is still in discussion, but we definitely want to increase the season and there will be more rounds,” he said.

“So, there is a big agenda and we have to hit the ground running.

“There is no time for complacency and we will get things moving straight away with lots of meetings before Christmas, so clubs have all the information they need for 2022.”