West Perth CEO O’Dea quits after four years

Mark DonaldsonWanneroo Times

O’Dea has left the club to chase opportunities away from the pressures of running a semi-professional football organisation.

He leaves the club in strong shape, with multi-million dollar upgrades planned for West Perth facilities at Arena Joondalup over the coming years.

While onfield success has been limited in his time, the club has emerged as the competition’s leader in promoting the game to new markets.

A ploy using a one-off Union Jack guernsey to attract international interest in district football last year, drew more than 6000 people to Arena Joondalup for the WAFL’s International Round.

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Its success piqued AFL interest. But O’Dea has also shouldered recent club controversies, with a heated West Perth-East Perth derby last year resulting in the Falcons facing disciplinary action from the WAFL.

In the wake of the saga, he declared strongly that racism had never been tolerated at the club after a player was suspended for making racist remarks during the match.

West Perth has already begun looking for O’Dea’s replacement.