The former Boston United striker now has the title of County Football Development manager with the Lincolnshire FA.

Football-mad Matson, who also lists Peterborough United, Diss FC and Deeping Rangers among his former clubs, is delighted that his new role will focus solely on the nation's favourite game.

He said: "It's going to be great to concentrate on the footballing side of things, clearly it's my favourite sport and one I enjoy playing and being involved with."

Matson had previously spent four years as head of sports development for South Holland and District Council.

"I enjoyed my time with South Holland District Council and feel we did a lot of good work over the four years," he said.
"I'm also very happy with the health improvement work that I developed, which saw schemes like exercise referral program, Virtual gyms, Fit Kids making such a positive impact to people's health.
"Now I'm looking forward to my new challenge of pushing Lincolnshire's standards above those of other counties."

Charged with developing all aspects of the game in Lincolnshire, Matson is to head up a team at a new base in Lincoln.

And one of his biggest aims is to get more people involved with the refereeing side of the game.

The FA has invested more than £4 million on Referee Development Officers for every county, ahead of their major 'Get into Refereeing' campaign this year.

Matson added: "It's pretty simple - without referees football can't progress. We do need to increase the amount of officials in the county, it's an area that does need addressing and I would urge anyone interested in becoming a referee to contact the Lincolnshire FA. We also provide a comprehensive coach education scheme throughout the year. It's vitally important people in Lincolnshire have access to coaching courses so they can become educated and hopefully put their new skills into practise on the training pitch.

"We run training courses for people as young as 14, so I hope to get more people involved."

Another key component of Matson's role will see him deliver the National Games Strategy.

It's now a year since the strategy was published, with every County FA producing its own plan to underpin their activity and targets.

Despite the demands of his new role, Matson insists that he is still keen to continue his career on the field.

After an injury-ravaged stint with home-town club Boston last season, the striker is returning to something like his best form with Unibond League First Division South Stamford.

Matson continued: "I'm enjoying my football as much as ever and I feel it will certainly help with my new job.
"I'm pretty well-known in the local community and maybe it will open a few doors for what I'm trying to do here."

l You can contact Danny Matson on 08449 670708 or email Daniel.Matson@lincolnshirefa.com