CMAL VICE PRESIDENT & GRASSROOTS FOOTBALL HERO

Mel was born in 1941 and is now in his 68h year as an administrator in local football having started in 1958, at the age of 16, with Stapleford & District Boys’ Club. After playing football for the youth teams at the Boys’ Club he moved up from the under 16’s to the under 18’s but was a year younger than most of his teammates and was unable to get a place in the team. 

The Club Chairman persuaded him to start an under 18’s B team and he became the secretary, manager and player for the team, and thus began his long association with local football administration. 

Over the years Mel held several officer posts at the Boys’ Club and when he progressed to the Old Boys’ section he played for many seasons, mainly in the reserves, but also continued in his roles as a secretary and manager. In the early 80’s the Old Boys amalgamated with Lace Web Football Club, under the name Lace Web United, and then in 1991 Mel was persuaded by the then Chairman of Sandiacre Town Youth Football Club, to take his team to SandiacreTown, who did not have an adult team at the time, and he has been associated with that Club ever since and is a Life President. 

Mel was elected to the Club’s Executive Committee in 1993 and became Club General Secretary in 1998 and added the position of Treasurer in 2006. He also served for three separate periods as the Club’s Football Secretary.  He stepped down from active service with Sandiacre in 2017 but, the following year from the January to November, he helped Borrowash Victoria as secretary, after the previous secretary moved to another club. 

Mel was involved with the Midlands Regional Alliance Football League from when it was founded in 1985, following a merger of the East Midlands (Regional) League with the Central Alliance Football League, and until the merger in 2023  with the Central Midlands League to form the Central Midlands Alliance.