Rebecca Caplehorn will leave her role as Tottenham Hotspur’s head of administration and football governance at the end of the January transfer window in another high-profile change at the Premier League club.
Sources close to the club, speaking on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to do so publicly, said the decision to leave was her own, and her duties would be taken on by an incoming director of football operations, who is yet to be named.
Caplehorn, who joined Spurs in 2015 after five years with Queens Park Rangers, was promoted to her current role in September 2020 as part of a significant reshuffle of the club’s senior management positions under former executive chairman Daniel Levy.
In the newly-created position, Caplehorn oversaw all football governance at the club, and worked closely to represent Spurs with the European Football Clubs (previously the European Club Association), the FA and various other governing bodies. She was also involved in transfer and contract negotiations.
In April, Spurs appointed Vinai Venkatesham as their chief executive officer. At the beginning of the summer, chief football officer Scott Munn left his role and long-serving executive director Donna Maria-Cullen stepped down.
In September, executive chairman Daniel Levy left the club after nearly 25 years in charge. Tottenham’s statement said that Levy had “stepped down” but the decision was taken by the club’s majority shareholders, the Lewis family.
Peter Charrington was appointed as a non-executive chairman following Levy’s departure, having joined the board in March as a non-executive director.
Earlier this month, Fabio Paratici was appointed joint-sporting director with Johan Lange. Last week, Spurs announced that Eric Hinson would join the board as a non-executive director.
Analysis
The departure of Rebecca Caplehorn is another sign of the significant executive changes behind the scenes at Tottenham this year.
Caplehorn was one of the longest-serving officials left at the club following the departures of Donna-Maria Cullen in the summer and executive chairman Daniel Levy, who was dismissed last month.
Caplehorn joined as head of football operations in early 2015, having previously been finance director of Queens Park Rangers. Over the course of her 11 years at Spurs she worked on football administration, transfers, player and staff contracts, as well as representing the club to various football bodies. She also took special responsibility for overseeing the development of the Tottenham women’s team.
While never courting publicity, ‘Bex’ was very popular inside the club and well respected throughout the football industry. Staff would often comment in private that Caplehorn was one of the most impressive colleagues they had ever worked with.
Her departure – with the arrival of a new director of football operations – shows how much has changed this year. Just six months ago the structure, built around Levy, was the same that it had been for a generation. But this year everything has changed. Matthew Collecott remains as long-standing operations and finance director, but so many other parts have changed or moved.
There is a new (non-executive) chairman Peter Charrington, a new CEO in Vinai Venkatesham, and a new football model with two co-sporting directors, in Johan Lange and the returning Fabio Paratici. More appointments are expected as the new model is fleshed out.