James Rogers is to be the new chairman at Ossett United and the current incumbent Phil Smith will take up the role of vice-chairman.
The changes will take effect at the end of the month.
Mr Smith has won a lot of plaudits for the way he has helped steer Ossett through some troubled water since becoming chairman in the middle of last year.
Mr Rogers was the chairman of Ossett Town before the merger so brings huge experience and knowledge to the position.
Mr Smith said in a statement: “It has been an absolute honour to be Chairman of this great club in this fantastic town and despite the rollercoaster of emotions and sleepless nights over the last two and a half years I won’t change that sentiment and never will. However, time has come to make some changes to the executive board and these changes will ensure further stability and future growth of Ossett United. At a time when uncertainty and worry is at the doorstep of non-league clubs, we face it head-on and will battle through in true Ossett United spirit and come out of the other side even stronger.
“With me now living out of the area and having family commitments that see me travel a lot, I am no longer able to attend every single game. I truly believe a Chairman should be front and centre on match days, at board meetings and at other key events. For a while now the day-to-day role of OUFC Chairman has been carried out by someone else whilst I have focussed more on other specific tasks and this has worked very well which has led me to be extremely happy in suggesting these changes to the group.
“At the end of the month I will be stepping down as Chairman and handing the reigns to James Rogers who without doubt should be the natural successor to the role. James is a born leader who has been carrying out many of the jobs associated with a chairman already and is someone who is no stranger to running a football club. His tireless efforts often go unseen by many and his passion for football in this town are second to none. Both he and Dawn care so much and do so much for the club and recognising that we are all truly thankful.
“I am not leaving the club before you wonder – we have a fantastic team and I want to continue to be a part of it. I was especially pleased when James specifically asked if I will stay on the Board as Vice Chairman – and of course I will, I love this club and anything I can do to continue to support OUFC and deliver our ambitions I will.
“So, at the end of the month I will be officially moving to the role of Vice Chairman and focussing my time on things that I can have as much high impact on as possible. I will continue to look after commercial activities and work with our sponsors to maintain a relationship that we promised from the outset. Secondly, I will be overseeing football operations and how we further develop our on-pitch activities across all of our teams.
“I have really enjoyed working closely with Benno, we speak four or five times a day on a quiet day and over ten times on a normal one! My primary passion is to make sure we have the right players and facilities in place in order for the management to do their job and push this club on. At this point I’d like to thank Lee Broadbent for his knowledge and support in this role and we are happy to report after a shocking first two weeks of injuries we are fixing that problem as fast as we can and this can be seen in the last two fantastic results.”