Morecambe Football Club’s chief executive will depart in the summer, the Shrimps have announced.
CEO, Ben Sadler, will be leaving his position during the close season to take up a new role as CEO of Walsall FC.
Ben joined the Shrimps as General Manager almost three years ago before becoming one of the English Football League’s CEOs in June 2022.
In a statement, the club said: ‘’Ben has served the club with distinction since day one; leading by example with integrity, diligence and initiative.
‘’Working closely with the rest of the board of directors, Ben has played a leading role in developing the club’s brand and vision, improving both football and non-football operations, and bringing the leadership team together.
‘’In addition, he was a driving force behind integrating Morecambe FC Women into the club, and he has made a huge positive difference to the effectiveness of MFC Community Sports, both as a trustee and in his capacity as CEO.
‘’More specifically the club’s achievements during Ben’s tenure have included preparing the club for and managing its operations through two seasons in League One, the highest level the club has ever competed at with accompanying record attendance levels.
‘’He’s also integrated all departments across the club into one aligned team, as well as dramatically increasing club turnover through improvement to non-football revenue.
‘’He’s also overseen the launch of the Former Players Association, extending the ‘MFC Family’ further, regaining the EFL Family Excellence award, rising from 63rd in the EFL to 27th overall, improvement of communications with supporters and development of the relationship between the club, Shrimps Trust and Community Sports.
‘’During his tenure, there has also been a number of self-funded infrastructure improvements on both the supporter facing and operational fronts, the development of a training pitch and facility at Lancaster & Morecambe College, and has seen the progression of numerous club employees, to both their personal benefit and the good of Morecambe FC.’’
Ben Sadler has been Morecambe FC CEO since June 2022
Morecambe FC Director, James Wakefield said: “Ben has been a model professional and a huge asset to the football club over the last three years, applying structure, hard work, efficient process and real care to every challenge and each incremental gain that it’s been possible to make.
‘’We are hugely disappointed to be losing him, but he is going to a well-run and stable club with a proud history and, like everyone who does a great job here at Morecambe, we wish him the absolute best.”
Ben Sadler commented: “It has been a privilege and an honour to lead Morecambe Football Club over the past three years. The highlights have been extremely rewarding.
‘’The challenges we have faced, as a group, have also been significant, but we have overcome them through strong teamwork, striving to continually improve, and most importantly - always believing we can. I am incredibly proud of how the club has progressed on so many fronts, which has been delivered entirely by the outstanding people who work here, our supporters, the local community, and all other stakeholders.
‘’Morecambe Football Club is truly special, with fantastic people throughout, and I wish everyone the very best as the club moves onto its next chapter”.
Ben will depart the club during the close season once certain projects and a proper handover have been completed.
The board of directors are considering the options for replacing him and will communicate the plan in due course.
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