Sir Ian Botham named Scunthorpe president

The 62-year-old former England all-rounder, who scored more than 7,000 runs and took more than 500 wickets for his country, played 11 times for the club between 1980 and 1985.

Iron chairman Peter Swann said: "We had a table at the ball to mark his retirement from fundraising walks on Monday. I thought it would be great if we could offer him the opportunity to become Scunthorpe United president. He accepted it without hesitation."

"It's a couple of seasons since we lost John Godfrey (the former president). We spoke as a board and thought Sir Ian would make an ideal ambassador for us.

"Sir Ian's other work means he's out of the country a lot, but he comes to watch the Iron when he can and also regularly watches on a feed when away. He's always very vocal in his support for the club."

"He has a great affinity with the Iron and will be a fantastic ambassador for Scunthorpe United."