Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) Chairman John Williams has resigned from his role to take up the opportunity to return to club football as the chairman of West Bromwich Albion.
In his three years at PGMOL, Williams (right on the picture above) played a significant role in developing the organisation, constantly challenging the management team to provide outstanding support for match officials in order to continually improve standards in refereeing.
PGMOL Managing Director Mike Riley said: “Since his appointment John has brought to the Board his wealth of football experience and his enthusiasm and passion for the game.
“His guidance has been instrumental in helping to create Select Group 2, the panel of 18 professional referees who will work predominantly in Championship matches this season, and the creation of professional assistant referees at Select Group 1.
“We are grateful for his invaluable influence and support which helped to secure significant additional investment for PGMOL. His effervescent personality and enthusiasm for refereeing will be missed by us all, while we will remember that his work as Chairman will greatly benefit our match officials of the future. I, and everyone at PGMOL, wish John every success in his new role.”
After his move, Williams said: “I have thoroughly enjoyed my time as PGMOL Chairman. I feel that we have made excellent progress as an organisation over that period and I have seen first-hand how hard match officials work and how dedicated they are.
"There are now more full time referees in the English leagues than ever before and I am confident that the organisation will continue to grow and maintain the exceptionally high standards that are already in place.”
The process to recruit a new Chairman is now underway and is expected to be completed in the near future.
