Croydon Athletic Football Club and its supporters are in mourning following the unexpected death of much-loved chairman and co-founder Keith Tuckey last Wednesday.

The man known as Mr Croydon Athletic' died of organ failure at the age of 63 after falling ill while on a cricket trip to India where he was watching England beat India in the final test match of the series.

Players, coaching staff, members of Keith's family and fans stood in silence before Athletic's weekend game against Tonbridge Angels, which they won 3-2.

The club has been in mourning since Keith's death. After arriving home last Saturday he was visited by a doctor, but his health deteriorated overnight and he was taken to hospital for an operation.

It was later discovered he had an ulcer and a burst appendix, which were both removed, but he suffered a heart attack and high blood pressure.

He was put on a life support machine but, after hopes were raised that he was to be taken off, he suffered complications. Within a couple of hours he had passed away through organ failure, which was a result of peritonitis.

Keith leaves his wife Lyn, son Steve, daughters Sarah, Joanne and Michelle and three grandchildren, as well as a football club he created to fulfil a dream.

The Rams' chief executive and club secretary Dean Fisher knew Keith for more than 20 years. It was his father Ken who helped form the club with Keith 17 years ago, when they merged Ken's Wandsworth FC with Keith's Norwood FC to create Wandsworth and Norwood, which a year later became Croydon Athletic.

Dean said: "Keith was a man of great honour and integrity.

"He had a dream as a young lad to run his own football club and he was truly living his dream.

"He had tremendous passion for the club and spent many years investing in its facilities as he wanted to ensure that we built the ground up and made improvements each year to ensure our facilities were up to the standards of the league.

"He wanted the club to be the biggest non-league club in the borough which he went on to achieve."

Keith was a popular figure among fans and players, who appreciated his dedication to the Rams.

"We regularly had banter after games over a pint and a whisky where he would share his football wisdom with me," said club captain James Gibson.

"He would tell me what he had thought of mine and the team's performance.

"How the club has expanded and improved over the last seven years since I have been here is nothing short of amazing and is a great testament to him."

The Croydon Guardian's Ryman League expert Mickey Taylor, who managed the Rams for three years under Keith, said: "Nobody could give more to a football club at non-league and professional level than Keith Tuckey.

"He gave all his life to football. It's very hard to image Croydon Athletic and football in Croydon without him."

Keith's funeral will be held on Thursday, April 6.

The service will be held at Croydon Parish Church at 11am followed by a burial at Croydon Cemetery.