Kent County Cricket Club CEO JAMIE CLIFFORD will "leave his post to take up a senior role" at the Marylebone Cricket Club. Since his appointment in '10, Clifford has "improved Kent's financial position and overseen the redevelopment" of its main ground at Canterbury. Kent CCC Operations Dir BEN GREEN will assume the CEO's duties from next year (BBC, 11/27). ... M&C Saatchi appointed PR exec KATE BOSOMWORTH, a "key figure" behind Sport England's "This girl can" campaign, to be the ad agency's CMO. The "newly-created role is the first major appointment" by CEO GILES HEDGER since joining M&C Saatchi last year from FCB Inferno (CAMPAIGN LIVE, 11/29).
COACHES/MANAGERS: EPL side West Bromwich Albion appointed former Newcastle and Crystal Palace coach ALAN PARDEW as manager. The club sacked TONY PULIS on Nov. 20. Pardew, 56, who had been out of the game since being sacked by Crystal Palace in Dec. '16, signed a deal until the end of the '19-20 season (BBC, 11/29). ... The Venezuelan Football Federation (FVF) on Wednesday sacked women's U20 coach KENNETH ZSEREMETA, "just days after he claimed that some of his players were malnourished as a result of the country's economic crisis." Venezuela Minister of Youth & Sports PEDRO INFANTE is VP of the FVF (EL PERIÓDICO, 11/29). ... MICHAEL SKIBBE will "remain at the helm" of the Greek national football team for the next couple of years, after steering Greece into the playoffs for a spot in the World Cup. The Hellenic Football Federation (EPO) confirmed that Skibbe will "arrive in Athens on Thursday to sign his new two-year contract" (EKATHIMERINI, 11/28). ... Former Chelsea and Tottenham Manager ANDRÉ VILLAS-BOAS quit Chinese Super League club Shanghai SIPG and "intends to take a break from football" so he can pursue his interest in motorsports. Villas-Boas was "linked with a return to the Premier League" as Everton’s manager but he "made it clear he does not intend to work in England again" (London TELEGRAPH, 11/29). ... Former Malaysia Super League side Johor Darul Ta'zim head coach MARIO GOMEZ was appointed manager of Indonesian side Persib Bandung. Gomez led JDT to the 2015 Asian Football Confederation Cup, and won MSL titles with the club in '15 and '16 (ESPN.com, 11/29).
