MIKE APPLEBY

Football man who broke all barriers

- Matt Badcock

ENGLAND C manager Paul Fairclough has led the tributes to one of Non-League’s most influential figures, Mike Appleby, who has passed away.

Appleby, 65, spent more than 30 years working for the Football Association and held the role of Leagues and Clubs manager where he was pivotal in how the National League System looks today.

He died in hospital on Tuesday following complications with coronavirus.

Appleby was the driving force behind the remarkable growth of the England C team, the International Challenge Trophy they competed in as well as the FA Inter-League Cup that gives grass-roots players the opportunity to represent their country.

He left the FA in 2015 but remained active as general secretary of the Spartan South Midlands League and he held roles with FIFA as a match commissioner and with UEFA as a march delegate.

Fairclough said: “Mike Appleby was an FA man, for sure, but he was a football man.

“He didn’t have a lot of time for the professional game but he had a massive affection for NonLeague football. His baby was the England C team. When I got there, Mike was just beginning to make contacts in Europe. He was the one who reached out to these European nations.

“Mike sensed I wanted more but that was fine because he did anyway. We started looking to develop a team that could do good and give people a leg up into the pro game and still, the most important thing, of them playing for their country.

“That’s what Mike created – a really prestigious team. He fought for the budget to be increased and once that happened the team started to branch out.”