De Bohun quit his post this week, informing FFA staff he would wrap up his four-year tenure at the end of the season for family reasons.

While the commute between the A-League chief’s Melbourne home and FFA headquarters in Sydney would have been tiring, the stress associated with such a highly criticised term no doubt also took its toll.

De Bohun’s relationships with some clubs have been strained, and a number of owners have been agitating for a change at the top.

The former Cricket Australia head of game development was brought back to the A-League in 2012 by then chief executive Ben Buckley, having previously held the position of operations manager from 2004-05.

As Head of the A-League, he enjoyed a period of sustained growth surrounding the arrival of high-profile marquees such as Alessandro Del Piero.

But damaging periods also ensued, including turbulent times at Nathan Tinkler’s Newcastle and the financial woes of Brisbane, along with last season’s A-League grand final scheduling blunder in which the decider was played at the relatively small AAMI Park.

He was criticised for his handling of last year’s fan crisis over the banning process, having been largely absent throughout the saga that was dealt with mostly publicly by FFA chief executive David Gallop and chairman Steven Lowy.

In a wider context, De Bohun’s resignation comes one day after the governing body had announced a re-focus of Australian football’s growth plans on the “engine room” of the A-League, in a bid to lift TV ratings and fan engagement in the hope it would help land a more lucrative broadcast deal next year.

The strategy shift puts the spotlight on the role’s viability in a climate where most clubs are pushing for the league to become independent from the governing body.

Heightened discussions on the topic took place yesterday in Sydney, where FFA held a meeting with club CEOs and chairmen.

But amid calls for more autonomy, FFA feels a structural separation from the A-League would be premature.

It’s understood the organisation does, at least at this stage, intend to replace De Bohun in some capacity, though whether the role remains as is or is reduced is unclear.

“It’s an opportunity to restructure how this role is defined,” former Socceroo and Fox Sports pundit Mark Bosnich told the Round Table program last night.

“This is a wonderful opportunity [to ask] do we need that role, No.1?

“No.2, if we do slightly split the A-League and the FFA, this is the time to implement it.”

Gallop praised De Bohun for his “incredible energy and dedication to the task”.

“Running the A-League is a seven-day-a-week undertaking,” he said.

“Damien did that while travelling across the nation and New Zealand to be on the ground with clubs to better understand their key issues and environment.”

De Bohun said the establishment of the FFA Cup, growth of the W-League and negotiation of the new collective bargaining agreement were highlights of his term.

-AAP