Premiere League has appointed Susanna Dinnage to take over from Richard Scudamore as its new boss

She would be responsible for negotiating and broadcasting sponsorship contracts worth billions of dollars. Dinnage is also now in charge of all league operations including regulatory, legal and political matters.

Dinnage’s appointment came as a surprise to many as she was not mentioned among the early runners and riders, who included former Prime Minister Tony Blair at one stage and more plausibly BBC Studios boss Tim Davie and ITV director of strategy Tom Betts, but experience of the broadcasting landscape was the key consideration .

The appointment of Dinnage highlights the league’s focus on broadcasting as most of its revenue comes from selling television rights.

She is currently the global president of Discovery’s Animal Planet brand, She joined Discovery in 2009 and previously ran its British and Irish operation, which included responsibility for Euro Sport

Chelsea Chairman Bruce Buck, Burnley chairman Mike Garlick and Leicester chief executive Susan Whelan led the recruitment process to find the new chief executive and they will now begin looking for a non-executive chairman, as the roles are being split again.

In a statement, Dinnage said: 

"I am excited at the prospect of taking on this fantastic role. The Premier League means so much to so many people. It represents the pinnacle of professional sport and the opportunity to lead such a dynamic and inspirational organization is a great privilege.

Outgoing Chief Executive officer Richard Scudamore did so well during his reign as premiere ship Boss, he increased broadcast rights by  12-fold to more than £8 billion. He would receive a payout of 5 million pounds to be paid over 3 years, in addition to being retained on the board for an advisory role

Dinnage who will resume her new position in the new year sure has big shoes to fill, but right now we can gloat that a sport popular with millions of men is run by a woman #girlpower.