A FOOTBALL enthusiast who has dedicated more than 60 years of his life to running a west London league has been made an MBE in the Queen’s Honours.

Ronald Halfacre, 84, started the Senior Sportsman Sunday Football League in 1950 and is about to start his 63rd year in charge.

The league, which now comprises three, 12-team divisions, is one of the most popular in the capital and at its peak had a remarkable 140 teams.

Mr Halfacre, who lives with his wife, Margaret, in Sherbrooke Road, Fulham, said he was overwhelmed.

“I’m really thrilled,” he said. “It was a bit of a shock. I have done it for so many years and was just carrying on as normal when I got the letter. It’s fantastic.”

He began the league when Sunday football was not properly acknowledged by the game’s authorities.

Mr Halfacre, who has one son, Paul, and has lived in Fulham all his life, said: “I saw an opportunity and wrote to the London FA to try and get the league affiliated. After they gave it the all-clear, we could start hiring pitches and getting referees and it just grew and grew.”

Thousands of players have passed through the league, which the Chelsea fan says provides a valuable outlet for the youth of today.

He added: “It can be hard for school leavers to find sport and a league like this gives them that opportunity to carry on playing.”

Despite its success, Mr Halfacre says the rising cost of equipment and VAT has resulted in a reduction in numbers, and blames the influx of foreign professional players for the dearth of stars being plucked from amateur competitions by Premier League and Football League clubs.

“I always had scouts ringing me and coming to watch the teams but it doesn’t really happen any more,” he said. “Local players don’t really have the chance to shine like they used to.”

Despite that, Mr Halfacre has no intention of stopping any time soon. “Football means too much to me,” he added.