March 12 – The Football League have appointed Greg Clarke (pictured), the former chief executive of Cable and Wireless Communications, to be their new chairman.
He succeeds Lord Brian Mawhinney who has stepped down after seven years .
Clarke, who was chairman at Leicester City for a short time in 2002 and is a committed Leicester fan, stepped down last month as chief executive of O3b, the Google-backed satellite broadband company.
“I am honoured to be taking up the position of chairman of The Football League,” he said.
“As a lifelong and committed football fan it is a privilege to serve the game in this capacity.
“My time at Leicester City provided an insight into the challenges clubs face on a daily basis.
“The lessons learnt from that experience will not be forgotten.
“I look forward to joining a highly successful organisation whose clubs are at the heart of their communities.
“I intend to build on The League’s recent successes and represent all our 72 clubs.”
Clarke has promised transparency in what he predicts will be a tough economic future for the country.
The 52-year-old joins the Football League towards the end of a season in which the debate over club ownership has been very much in the spotlight.
“I have a propensity to think transparency is a wonderful thing,” Clarke said.
“When you look around the world, where companies and countries have no scrutiny terrible things happen.
“Scrutiny keeps everyone honest.
“My personal feeling is, in exactly the same as you run a public company, everyone knows what you earn and how you earn it and you have to be completely transparent about your accounts, balance sheet, assets, risks.
“Everything has to be disclosed.
“The further we go down that road the happier I will be.
“I believe in transparency in society and football is part of society.”
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