Guiseley AFC have appointed James Ferguson as their new Chairman, following the recent retirement of Phil Rogerson, who had previously held the post.

James was newly appointed as a marketing manager for Guiseley AFC to work on raising the profile of the club generally and to liaise closer with the club’s business partners. These areas will continue to be part of James’ remit alongside the Chairman’s role.

Born in Northern Ireland but raised in England, James went to school in Burnley and is Sales and Commercial Director of Tate Oil based in nearby Otley.

James has had links with several non league clubs for the last few years, notably Silsden AFC who are his local team.

James Ferguson said: “I am absolutely thrilled to be joining Guiseley AFC as Chairman! I hope to be able to use my experience of football and business to positive effect and I am looking forward to working with the board.

“I am ambitious and make no excuses for the fact that I want to drive success at Guiseley both on and off the pitch; I believe that the relationship between Chairman and Manager is massively important and is an aspect of the role I really enjoy. But most of all I want this journey to be fun and I look forward to meeting Lions fans very soon so that I can share my vision and passion for football and most importantly success at Guiseley

“I think Guiseley have as much potential as any non-league club in the country and my job is to light the blue touch paper.”

Behind the scenes, Adie Towers is moving onto the Board of Directors and will be handing over the role of General Manager, Football to James Pickles, who has been working alongside Adie during last season. Trudi Hannaford will remain as General Manager, Operations & Community.