Sydney FC In August 2017, Townsend was named as the new CEO of
A-League Men club
Sydney FC, replacing
Tony Pignata who was moving on to become the CEO of
Perth Glory in
Western Australia. During his time at Sydney, Townsend oversaw massive growth of the club, with the men's and women's team winning eight trophies and numerous accolades under the guidance of
Graham Arnold,
Steve Corica and
Ante Juric. Townsend also oversaw the planning and development of the clubs
Centre of Excellence at
Macquarie University, and the transition to the new
Sydney Football Stadium from the
old Sydney Football Stadium.
Australian Professional Leagues In December 2020,
Football Australia announced that it would relinquish control of the domestic leagues (
A-League Men,
A-League Women, and now-defunct
A-League Youth) to
Australian Professional Leagues (APL), a newly formed entity separating Football Australia as the operating body of the national domestic leagues, in line with best global practice. The APL, in addition to running the national competitions, would take over the operational, commercial, and marketing control of the Professional Leagues and all revenue generation responsibilities. Townsend was announced as CEO of the Australian Professional Leagues. In December 2022, Townsend and the Australian Professional Leagues announced that the hosting rights to the
A-League Grand Final would be in Sydney, having done a deal with
New South Wales Government body
Events NSW, breaking the tradition that the highest ranked team would earn hosting rights to the grand final. The move was highly criticized by fans, players and pundits alike voicing their disapproval to the move. APL Director and
Melbourne Victory chairman
Anthony Di Pietro resigned from his position as director following the announcement as it was revealed that the A-League clubs had not been consulted about the deal or involved in the decision making. Townsend however, doubled down on the deal which was reportedly worth
$10 million over the three years, stating that it would create a week-long 'festival of football' in the city. As a result of the decision supporter groups across the A-League staged protests and walk-outs during games leading the APL to concede they did not expect such hostility towards the decision. Tensions between the APL and supporter groups boiled over during the
Melbourne City v Melbourne Victory derby where during the midst of both sides active support groups protests, acts of
Football hooliganism took place. Multiple flares and projectiles were launched from the active support groups onto the playing surface.
Melbourne City goalkeeper
Tom Glover picked up flares that had landed within his 18-yard box and in an attempt to dispose of them tossed them back over the advertising hoardings. One of these flares landed in the Melbourne Victory terrace, leading to a violent pitch invasion from hundreds of supporters. In the ensuring chaos, Glover was assaulted by a Melbourne Victory supporter who threw a flare bucket at him, causing a severe laceration to his face and a concussion. Referee
Alex King, along with a TV cameraman and several security guards were also assaulted. and the match was ultimately abandoned. In the aftermath of the match, the APL and Football Australia handed down some of the most severe disciplinary actions seen in Australian Football against Melbourne Victory FC and dozens of supporters, while
Victoria Police launched their own criminal investigations against individuals involved in the events. In October 2023, it was announced that Townsend was stepping down from his position as the head the APL, to start a new position in
Saudi Arabia as CEO of SRL Sports Investments. ==Club honours==