The manner of departure for the Football Association general secretary, Alex Horne, who has announced he is leaving the top executive post at the governing body in January, will be most unusual.
In his 11 years at the FA in a variety of roles, including financial director, Wembley Stadium managing director and general secretary, he has watched a succession of colleagues come and go in a blaze of controversy and headlines.
Horne, however, who was awarded the title of general secretary in 2010 following the departure of Ian Watmore as chief executive as part of an attempt to make the role less high profile, will slip out of the door relatively quietly in January.
The 42-year-old, whose salary package adds up to £528,000, said he had decided to “look for a change of direction” after 11 “fantastic years” at the FA. He pointed to the new Wembley, where he was parachuted in as managing director in 2006 to try to restructure its finances, and the long overdue opening of the £100m national football centre at St George’s Park among his achievements.
“It’s been a privilege to have played my part in the financing, build and opening of Wembley Stadium and the national football centre at St George’s Park, both of which will provide a huge benefit for the game,” he said. “More importantly, it’s been a pleasure to work alongside so many devoted and talented people within the FA who are passionate about developing and improving football across the country at all levels.”
Horne’s tenure as general secretary has not been without controversy, coinciding with the tail end of the disastrous £21m 2018 World Cup bid and the FA’s handling of the fallout from the Luis Suárez and John Terry racism cases.
He was part of the four-man panel that picked Roy Hodgson for the England job ahead of Harry Redknapp following Fabio Capello’s departure but did not have a seat on the FA chairman Greg Dyke’s England Commission to plot a future for the game.
Horne has, however, played a key role in strengthening relations with Uefa and was a member of the competitions committee that drew up plans for the pan-continental Euro 2020. He also played a crucial role in building support for England’s successful bid to host the semi-finals and final at the tournament.
Throughout his eventful tenure at the FA there has been one other unfortunate constant – England’s underperformance on the pitch at major tournaments. Progress on long-overdue governance reform has also remained woefully slow.
“This is probably the toughest decision I have made during my career. At the age of 42, the time is right for me to look for a change of direction,” said Horne, who is said to be open-minded about his next move and whether he will stay in football. The FA Board will start the search for a successor immediately, prioritising experience in finance and marketing – particularly given the looming challenge of continuing to fill Wembley and renewing the 10-year debentures that underpin repayments on the loans taken out to build it.
Dyke, who will have to stand down himself in 2017 under the FA’s rules, said: “On behalf of the board and the staff at the FA, I would like to thank Alex for his dedicated leadership in a variety of roles over the last decade.”
