Ian Watmore has resigned as chief executive of the Football Association with little more than two months to the World Cup finals and less than a year in the job.

Watmore, 51, took charge of the FA last June as replacement for Brian Barwick.
Lord Triesman, the FA’s chairman, said he had asked Watmore to reconsider but has accepted the resignation as he did not change his mind.

Watmore had suggested he was planning for a long-term future at the organsiation, which has got through chief executives at an astonishing rate. Starting with a board meeting on Tuesday, they will seek to appoint their fifth man to the position since 2000.

He was said to have grown disillusioned with the slow-moving manner of the organisation and resistance to change he encountered from people at board level with vested interests.

There were two notable achievements under his reign, however. He got the National Football Centre back on track and resurrected the launch of the Women's Super League.