A SWISS-born footballer with two games for Grays Athletic on his CV is set to become the leader of England's Professional Football Association.

Former Brighton striker Maheta Molango is set to replace Gordon Taylor as chief executive of the PFA next year, in a move that has courted considerable controversy.

As well as Brighton, Molango numbers Lincoln City, Oldham athletic and Wrexham among his former UK clubs but also played twice for Grays Athletic in 2007. Then 24, and at a crossroads in a career that had started with Atletico Madrid, he failed to make an impression and was released after two appearances.

The Swiss 38-year-old, who spent four years working as chief executive of Spanish club Real Mallorca, had been recommended for the job by an independent advisory panel.

Taylor is to leave the role he has held since 1981 at the end of the season and the players' board has approved the appointment, but it is not yet formal.

A statement from the players' union added that the PFA "will now look to finalise terms" with Molango, who qualified to be a lawyer in Spain after retiring from playing.

He will become only the second person in 40 years to lead the PFA when £2 million a year Taylor finally stands down two years after first announcing his intention to do so.

Ex-England defender Gary Neville, one of four independent non-executive directors of the players' union who selected Molango has defended the choice. Neville says criticism of the Swiss has been "disparaging" and claimed there were "elements of xenophobia" around some of the reporting.

Molango will lead one of the most powerful bodies in English football. He will also become one of the most senior black figures in the game. His appointment follows concern among black players and members of the PFA that not enough had been done at the beginning of the recruitment process to ensure diversity among candidates for the job.