Changes are in the offing for local football administration with the imminent appointment of Russell Paul as the new chief executive officer of the SA Football Association (Safa) and the possibility of his predecessor Dennis Mumble assuming same role at the Premier Soccer League (PSL).

Mumble has not taken up the opportunity to extend his contact at Safa and taken leave.

Paul‚ the former president of Safa Western Cape‚ is set to be endorsed as the new chief executive when the football body hold their annual general meeting at the Sandton Convention Centre next weekend on Saturday‚ December 1‚ sources have told SowetanLIVE.

Paul has been acting as Safa chief executive since September and is highly rated for his organisational skills‚ honed when he went to work fulltime with the sports body during the hosting of the 2010 World Cup.

He served as a venue general coordinator at the World Cup in Russia and earlier this month took charge of the second leg of the Caf Champions League final in Tunisia as the general co-ordinator of the match.

Mumble is an alternate choice for the chief executive job at the PSL‚ where Lamontville Golden Arrows owner Mato Madlala has been sitting in the hot seat on an acting basis for more than three years now.

PSL chairman Irvin Khoza is said to be an admirer of Mumble’s ability as a technocrat.

Mumble is highly rated as a strategist and organiser but has been criticised by clubs in the past over his communications skills.

He has also been accused of taking too long to return e-mails and answer calls.

An alternative for Mumble‚ who was in exile in the US during the apartheid era‚ is a political career.

He has previous worked as strategist for the African National Congress‚ including directly for President Cyril Ramaphosa.