Neil Doncaster is the Group Chief Executive of the Scottish Professional Football League (“SPFL”). He has been involved in professional football in a series of senior roles for over 25 years, after qualifying as a solicitor in 1995. He joined Norwich City FC in 1997 as Company Secretary and, four years later at the age of 31, became their Chief Executive. In his twelve years at City, the Club re-built its reputation with supporters, with season ticket numbers trebling over the period to 20,000 and the Club receiving a number of awards for community, business development and innovation.
While with Norwich, Neil was elected to the Board of the English Football League and subsequently to that of the English Football Association. Neil joined the Scottish Premier League in 2009 and, following the merger of the Scottish Premier League and Scottish Football League in 2013, Neil became the first Chief Executive of the SPFL. Neil is the only person ever to have sat on the Boards of both The FA and The Scottish FA.
The SPFL recently announced new long-term and record-breaking live broadcast rights contracts with Sky Sports, Premier Sports, Infront and the BBC, and a title sponsorship contract with William Hill, resulting in record turnover and club payments last season. In summer 2022, the senior women’s leagues were brought into the SPFL’s governance structure, with the creation of the Scottish Women’s Premier League.
In 2024, Neil was re-elected to the Board of the European Leagues and is also a member of UEFA’s Control, Ethics and Disciplinary Body.
