Fire President and GM Guppy departs

BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. (April 11, 2008) - Chicago Fire Soccer and President and General Manager John Guppy agreed to part ways today. The Fire also announced that Andell Sports Group Managing Director Javier Leon will serve as interim President and GM. The team will begin the search for a new President and GM immediately.


Before joining Andell in February 2008, Leon was the Chief Executive Officer of Chivas USA Enterprises in Los Angeles for three years.


"John's professionalism and dedication has been valued and appreciated by the Fire organization for the past four years, but I believe it is in the team's best interests to go in a new direction with its senior leadership and management," said Fire Owner Andrew Hauptman.


"We are very focused on raising the level of play on the field as well as building a world-class sports enterprise. I am confident that Javier will do a great job managing the organization on an interim basis. Our plan is to begin a comprehensive search for a new president as quickly as possible," Hauptman added.