Mawhinney steps up to 'impossible job' as League chairman

Nationwide clubs hope political skills of former Tory minister can improve relations with Premiership élite

As a former chairman of the Conservative Party, Sir Brian Mawhinney is well used to presiding over a crumbling old institution with a far from certain future, but even he will have his hands full at the Football League. Yesterday the Belfast-born MP for North-West Cambridgeshire was named as the organisation's new chairman.

Mawhinney, 62, who has no previous experience in football administration, will take up his part-time post in January, replacing Keith Harris, who resigned in August following the ITV Digital débâcle. The collapse of the Carlton-Granada venture cost the League's 72 clubs more than £120m in lost revenue because their deal with ITV Digital had been signed without guarantees.

The League has yet to announce a replacement for the former chief executive, David Burns, who also resigned in August. A shortlist of eight unnamed candidates – understood to have been chosen for their business backgrounds – has been drawn up. Interviews will start in the new year.

"This is an important job, which needless to say I will take seriously, but football is also fun and I intend to enjoy that aspect too," said Mawhinney, a long-time supporter of Peterborough United. "I am coming in at a time when important issues, such as restructuring and transfer windows, are being addressed and need to be resolved."

Mawhinney's main task, according to the League, will be to provide guidance on strategic planning and to use his negotiating skills and political experience to bring greater harmony to the League. As debates continue into possible restructuring and wage-capping, Mawhinney will also consult widely with chairmen to canvass opinions.

"Sir Brian was the unanimous choice of the Football League board and we are delighted to have attracted someone of his political stature," Peter Heard, the League's acting chairman, said. "We were impressed by his leadership qualities, his contacts in the corridors of power and his lifelong interest in football."

Mawhinney has faced substantial political challenges in the past, not least as the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland. His greatest challenge in his new job will be to forge stronger relations with the Premier League and foster a consensus across a diverse range of Nationwide clubs.

"Chairman of the Football League is an impossible job," said Barry Fry, the manager of Peterborough and a long-time friend of Mawhinney. "There's 72 different chairman wanting 72 different things, so you've got no effing chance to start with, have you?

"But Brian is absolutely the right man for it. He's a brilliant Posh fan, a strong character, a man of great beliefs. He won't be influenced by anyone and he's his own man. If he thinks someone's doing something wrong he'll tell them."

Mawhinney's political career has not been without controversy. As the Tory party chairman, he was pelted with paint and flour in 1995 by demonstrators protesting at the proposed crackdown by the Government on asylum seekers.

Arguably his most embarrassing single blunder came at the Tory party conference the same year when he mocked Labour's political correctness. He publicly derided a decision by the Labour-controlled Camden council to fund the Hopscotch Asian Women's Group, delighting delegates as he mocked what he assumed was socialist spending at its most ridiculous. It quickly emerged that the group was not a strange minority dance troupe but a well-regarded literacy and language skills project run by Save the Children. Its patron was the Princess Royal and it also received Home Office funding.

An avoidance of any such own goals with the League will be a must.

Mawhinney: The life and times

Born: Belfast, 1940.

Educated: Royal Belfast Academical Institution; Queen's University, Belfast; University of Michigan, United States; London University.

Previous occupations: University lecturer; laboratory assistant.

Present occupation: Conservative MP for North West Cambridgeshire.

Previous political positions: Shadow Home Secretary (1997-1998); Minister without portfolio, Conservative Party chairman (1995-1997); Secretary of State for Transport (1994-1995); Minister of State, Health Department (1992-1994); Minister of State, Northern Ireland Office (1990-1992); Junior Minister, Northern Ireland Office (1986-1990).