Grahame Rowley has been appointed president of Altrincham Football Club after officially ending his 10-year reign as chairman.

Part of a new board that was formed with the club in dire financial straits 18 years ago, Rowley succeeded Geoff Goodwin as chairman in September 2010 and later became a key figure in the building of the Community Sports Hall at The J.Davidson Stadium.

Announcing the honour during a video of the club's end-of-season awards on Sunday, director Lawrence Looney, who becomes joint-chairman with another board member, Bill Waterson, said: "Grahame's first contribution was to save the club because, at that point, it had significant debts and was probably on the verge of going out of business.

"It would have been very easy to take the easy option and maybe fold the club and restart, but Grahame and the board were desperate to keep it going.

"They pulled together as a board, raised significant funds and paid off the creditors one-by-one.

"Their dedication to the cause paid off and put the club on the sort of footing it's on today.

"As a board, we wanted to recognise his contribution over the course two decades.

"He still works extremely hard for the club every single day, and we wanted him to continue the journey with us, so we agreed to appoint him president of the club."

Rowley, who succeeds the late Noel White as president, said: "I'm absolutely delighted to accept the role.

"I've certainly got big shoes to fill – those of Noel White – and I can only promise that I will do my very best to further the cause of our club."