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Former regional journalist given leading football club role

Jim GreenA former regional journalist has been given a leading role at a former league football club.

Jim Green, left, has taken up the role of chief executive of the Chester FC Community Trust, which runs the club, formerly known as Chester City.

Jim has worked as a news journalist for Chester daily The Leader and more recently as a sports reporter for the Chester Chronicle.

He is a lifelong fan of the club, widely considered to be the continuation of Chester City FC which spent 69 years in the Football League before being wound-up in 2010.

The current club play in the fifth tier Football Conference, one level below league status.

Jim has taken over the position of CEO from Jon McCarthy, who has been appointed the club’s first team manager.

Said Jim: “I’m privileged and honoured to be given this opportunity. Jon McCarthy and his team have done a fantastic amount of work setting solid foundations upon which to build but there is so much more we can do to have a positive impact on the community.

“Football is at the heart of the Trust so developing coaching and education programmes for schools, improving and expanding our existing activities including Mini Kickers, soccer schools and walking football, and engaging and supporting the area’s grassroots clubs and leagues are three of the priorities for me.

“However, I’m particularly relishing the challenge of taking the training facilities project forward and helping to deliver the long-held ambition of a top class facility that the club, trust and city of Chester can be proud of.

“I am a huge believer in the power of sport to enhance and change lives and hugely excited about the trust’s vast potential.”

Jim is also chairman of rugby league club Chester Gladiators.

Trust board member Sue Pearson said: “It was a very strong field of candidates and we would like to thank all of them for their efforts, but Jim shone through. His passion for the club and the community was clear.

“He has made a success out of everything he has done – helping the club rise from the ashes, building the Gladiators from scratch and we all know what a good communicator he is from his work at the Chronicle.

“He has a big reputation in the city already and he is raring to go to work with us to take the trust to the next level.”