After rumors about his future, the President and CEO of Maple Leaf Sports Entertainment will leave the company.
On Thursday MLSE confirmed that Tim Lieweke, the former President and CEO of the Anschutz Entertainment Group, will step down by June 2015 and will continue his role between now and then until a successor is found.
Leiweke, 57, has played a prominent role in the development of Major League Soccer and was pivotal in the LA Galaxy’s rise as a superpower in North America.
He arrived in Toronto back in June 2013 but will now be stepping away from the emerging MLS club as he aims to run his own business after 30 years as a sports executive.
In a statement released on MLSE’s website, Leiweke had the following to say.
Leiweke’s strong links with the soccer world has helped turn Toronto FC into one of the most talked about franchises in MLS, as they’ve acquired the likes of Michael Bradley and Jermain Defoe over the past six months. The club is going places with plans for stadium expansion, a talented squad in place and a young, ambitious head coach in charge in Ryan Nelsen, but losing Leiweke will be a big blow for TFC. His name resonates strongly in soccer circles in North America and further afield, helping to grow their brand beyond the shores of Lake Ontario.
Under his stewardship MLSE pumped plenty of money into TFC and now only time will tell if the new man in charge is set to do the same. With Leiweke moving on, the search for his succesoer at MLSE has already begun.