Townsend has been juggling both positions since early this year, and the permanent switch to masterminding the fortunes of the newly independent men’s and women’s competitions will dispel any perceived future conflicts of interest.

It will also distill the workload for Townsend, the ex-Sydney United player turned game-shaping executive.

It’s believed that Brad Crismale - son of long-time Sydney FC board member Michael Crismale - will succeed Townsend in the top job.

Crismale junior is currently CEO of the cyber security firm Matrium Technologies.

In charge at Sydney for over four years, Townsend has been front and centre of a period of sustained sucesss for the Sky Bkues, with two A-League premierships, a championship and an FFA Cup under his watch.

He was also intimately involved in the unbundling process which saw the A-League clubs devolve power away from Football Australia’s to take charge of their own destinies.

Townsend also played a leading part in the negotiations with Channel 10 which clinched a five-year $200 million TV deal to screen this season’s games through the Paramount+ streaming service.

Townsend is expected to complete the transition in the coming weeks.

He declined to comment when contacted by FTBL.