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Biography

Thura has been involved in the IT industry since 1985. He is currently an IT Consultant and previously held many senior positions, including IT Director and Chief Information Officer of a multi-national and multi-£million turnover book publisher, Time Warner Books, which became Little, Brown Book Group, part of Hachette Group.

Thura is also an Accredited Civil, Commercial and Workplace Mediator, as well as an Arbitrator.

He has a Master of Laws degree and is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute and a Member of the Chartered Institute of Arbitrators.

Thura has been a Magistrate in Hampshire since 2004, where he sits as a presiding justice in adult and youth courts, and was the Chairman of the Bench responsible for around 180 magistrates at the time. He also sits in Winchester Crown Court for appeals from Magistrates’ Court and is currently the Chairman of Wiltshire, Hampshire & Isle of Wight magistrates’ training, approvals, authorisations and appraisals committee, which is responsible for around 600 magistrates in the area.

Thura’s love of football led to his first experience of football administration when he qualified as a referee in 1981. Forty years later, he was appointed as a Director of The Football Association (The FA).

He is currently the Chairman of the Women’s Football Conference, and its elected representative on The FA Council, a member of The FA Board, National Game Board, Women’s Football Board, Affiliated Associations Committee, Women’s Football Ambassadorial Panel, Judicial Panel and National Serious Case Panel, where he chairs disciplinary commissions and appeal boards. He was a member of the Premier League Judicial Panel until his appointment to The FA Board, when he stood down due to possible conflict of interest.

Thura is also a UEFA Match Delegate, FIFA Match Commissioner, Senior Independent Director of Sussex County FA and Chairman of Crawley Town Community Foundation (a charity).

Thura previously served on The FA’s: Women’s Football Committee, Business Development Committee, Sanctions and Registrations (Rules) Committee, National Game IT Committee, Football Development Committee, Inclusion Advisory Board, Race Equality Advisory Group, FA Tutor for Equality and Race Equality; and chaired FA Women’s Premier League and FA Safeguarding Review Panel. He was also the Deputy Chairman and a Director of Hampshire FA over many years.

Appointed August 2021

Committees: 

  • Risk and Audit committee
  • Remuneration committee

 

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