World Cup 2022: FAW chief operating officer Alan Hamer leaves

Alan Hamer (left, with former Wales First Minister Carwyn Jones) worked for Glamorgan County Cricket Club before joining the Football Association of Wales

A key figure in Wales' World Cup preparations is leaving his role less than two months before the tournament starts in Qatar.

Alan Hamer is the Football Association of Wales' (FAW) chief operating officer and has played a prominent role in planning for the country's first World Cup in 64 years.

But with only seven weeks until Wales' opening match, he has accepted a new job as finance and operations director with the European Club Association (ECA).

Hamer felt it was too good an opportunity to turn down and is confident his departure will not affect Wales manager Robert Page and his players, who face the United States on 21 November.

But off the field, several senior members of staff have left the FAW since the national men's side's historic World Cup qualification in June.

Some departures have been on the football side of the organisation - such as Carl Darlington, whose 17-year stint at the FAW ended when he became Everton's new head of academy coaching - while others have been in administrative and business roles.

The BBC has been told that some of those who left had become disillusioned with the working environment at the FAW, whose new headquarters are on the outskirts of Cardiff.

The governing body has undergone numerous changes since Noel Mooney was appointed chief executive last year, and Hamer could be the most significant departure since Mooney's predecessor Jonathan Ford in March 2021.

Hamer has spent close to a decade with the FAW, heading up special projects such as the successful bid to host the 2017 Champions League final at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff. He was also working on the UK and Republic of Ireland's bid to host Euro 2028.

Before joining the FAW, the former accountant worked for the Welsh Rugby Union and Glamorgan County Cricket Club, where he served as chief executive.

Hamer's new employer, the ECA, has not yet confirmed his appointment but it is expected to be announced soon.

Created in 2008, the ECA describes itself as "the sole independent body directly representing football clubs at European level".