WHEN Mervyn Leggett became secretary of the Worcestershire Football Association in 1992, he worked as a volunteer from the dining room of his Evesham home.

Skip forward two decades, as he prepares to retire from the role at the end of the month, he has been a full-time employee for 12 years and works with more than 10 people in a thriving organisation.

During that time, the 62-year-old has been at the forefront of some of the biggest changes in the association’s 109-year history.

He oversaw the purchase of its first permanent headquarters in 2001, in De Salis Drive on the Hampton Lovett Industrial Estate, and the association becoming a limited company in 1999.

On a personal level, the role has also elevated Leggett to national recognition — he is an FA vice-president and sits on both the National Game and main board at Wembley, which saw him consulted on the appointment of England boss Roy Hodgson.

He also heads up the FA Vase committee, being instrumental in returning the non-league competition to Wembley in 2007, and is on the women’s football committee as well.

Although Leggett will continue in those positions, he has decided to call time on his daily Worcestershire duties.

“I think the timing is right for me personally,” he said.

“It’s not that I’ve fallen out of love with the job, I just think it’s right for me and the association. At times you do need someone coming in with a fresh look at things.

“From July, the new four-year FA strategy and County FA plan kick in so I think it’s a good time for somebody else who is going to be involved in taking the association forward over that period to be in the post.

“In recent years my involvement at the FA has increased since I’ve gone onto the main board so that’s a factor.

“The other thing is I have got four grandchildren and I would like to devote a bit more time to them while they’re reasonably young.

“My wife has always been very supportive throughout my career but sometimes it’s a lonely existence in terms of my days away and evening meetings.”

He added: “The job has changed so much. Since the turn of the century it has changed considerably with counties of our size and even smaller having full-time staff and a development team that can be proactive in delivering good quality coaching education courses.

“Clearly, 12 or 15 years ago that wasn’t possible because the funding from the FA then isn’t what it is now.

“They have invested large amounts of money into county FAs to promote and develop football in their areas.”

Leggett, who took over from current Worcestershire FA president Percy Rushton, has also paid tribute to the colleagues, past and present, who have worked alongside him.

He said: “It’s a combined effort of directors, council members and staff over that period of time that has brought the association to where it is today, it’s not one individual.

“I like to think I’ve played a small part in that but it’s by no means down to me.

“I’ve been privileged to be paid to do this job for the last 12 years — I came through the ranks of being a volunteer — so I never lose sight of the fact that there’s hundreds of volunteers in Worcestershire every week that sustain this great game.”

Interviews for Leggett’s successor have begun and a decision is due in the near future.