ANDY Norman has been appointed the first county development manager at Worcestershire FA.

For the past four years, Norman has been development officer, working alongside Julie Leroux, girls' and women's officer, and administrator Julie Lymer.

He will lead a new development team of two officers and a full-time administrator from April.

Norman's role is to ensure FA initiatives are delivered in the county and the staff work together to maximise football opportunities for Worcestershire folk.

He said: "We will be putting a football facilities strategy into effect which means ensuring that any funding we can obtain from the football foundation and other organisations is used to improve facilities where they are most needed."

The foundation has provided funding for projects costing around £3million in the county, including a new artificial floodlit pitch at Pershore High School.