Welcome Antony - League announces new President

Antony Lockley OBE, Vice Chair of Village Manchester Football Club, will be Honorary President of the Lancashire & Cheshire League for the 2026-7 season. He said, “I am honoured to be invited to be President of the L&C for the 2026-7 season. This year is a special one for my club – Village Manchester FC – as it is our 30^th birthday. I am proud of the association between my club and the L&C, which is ten years old this year. I accept the presidency as recognition for what my club represents and the role of the L&C in helping us deliver on our mission and provide football for everyone.”

Antony has a proud link with Village and there will be a separate upcoming article on his success at his club over the years.

Antony has loved football as long as he can remember. By his own admission he was always a better manager than player! From quite a young age he led his school and then university teams to success in league and cup competitions. He joined VMFC in the summer of 2003. At this time VMFC was a one team club in the Second Division of the Manchester Accountants League. After a few months, and only 25, he became manager and took the team into the Premier Division. It was a very hard first season in the Accountants Prem but VMFC survived and kicked on, forming a second team that year.

The first team of VMFC joined the L&C in 2016, working their way up the leagues with successive promotions. The club’s first team currently feature in the L&C Division 1, with VMFC’s second team in L&C Division A.

Participation within the L&C is very important to VMFC. Antony said: “We have always been clear at VMFC that the single most important thing we do is provide a safe space for our members to play football. At the same time, we have always believed that part of our mission means competing in mainstream local leagues, challenging and overcoming prejudice and discrimination head on, week in week out. LGBTQ+ people can be as good at football as anyone else. We are grateful to our friends at the L&C who have supported us in our determination to further our mission in mainstream football.”

Outside of VMFC Antony has had a successful career in public service, and was awarded an OBE by the King in 2024 for his services to local government. However, he is very clear that the task of management in amateur football is far harder than any management task in his career!

Pic Antony is welcomed into office by his predecessor Rob O’Connor at the AGM