THE Thames Valley Football League are looking for a new chairman following the resignation of Ken Clark.

It is understood he became concerned over the direction the league was taking amid claims he was not getting the full support of the rest of colleagues.

President Mark Rozzier confirmed the TVL had reluctantly accepted Clark’s resignation and they have expressed their gratitude to his contribution over the last 10 years.

Rozzier added: “It is the management committee’s intention to advertise for the position of chairman. In the meantime Martin Law, as deputy chairman, will undertake the role of interim chairman.”

Clark is not the only long-serving official to quit the league this year, as Andy Awbery brought an end to his 27-year service as registration and referee appointments secretary.

“I didn’t want it to come to an end in the way it did,” admitted former referee Awbery, who has been involved in local football for around 47 years.

His fall-out with the league council came when a fellow member “brought my personal integrity into question” at a Berks and Bucks FA disciplinary hearing.

“It was claimed I had a personal problem with his club, but that cannot be any further from the truth,” said Awbery.

“I have sat at meetings and tried to help them. I even offered to go to matches to try to sort things out.”

Later, when the league met to elect officials for the year ahead, Awbery said he did not wish to stand for re-election for either of his roles.

“When I said no, they just moved on,” he recalled. “There were people in the room who knew the reasons, but nobody wanted to discuss it with me. There were no words of thanks. I walked out of the meeting.”

During his time with them, Awbery played a leading role in taking the league from the pen and ink into the electronic age and he also worked closely with the Football Association in developing the Full-Time website.