FA appoint Horne to replace Watmore

The Football Association tonight appointed Alex Horne as acting chief executive to fill the gap left by Ian Watmore's resignation.

Watmore last night stepped down from the position despite having been in the post for only a year, having grown frustrated that his proposals were being thwarted.

An emergency FA board meeting this afternoon saw the departure discussed and the appointment of Horne as Watmore's temporary replacement.

A statement released by the FA read: "The board have invited current chief operating officer Alex Horne to take on the role of acting chief executive officer with immediate effect.

"The board regrets that Ian has decided not to continue as CEO, but has every confidence in Alex, the outstanding staff at the FA and the managerial leadership in place within the organisation.

"It has been agreed that Ian Watmore will leave the organisation at the end of this month."

FA chairman Lord Triesman confirmed that a new chief executive will not be appointed until after England's bid to host the 2018 World Cup is voted on by FIFA in December.

"Alex has taken over and the new arrangements are in place," Triesman told Sky Sports News.

"There's no desire to spend a huge amount of time but we will want to replace the CEO.

"I want to make sure that when the board is slightly reconfigured that it has the chief executive that it wants.

"It would be very discourteous for the new board not to have that opportunity.

"It's not a question of delaying, just working to a timetable that gets the right result."