Born in Southport to Portuguese parents, De Nobrega has a wide-ranging dedication to improving all aspects of the game in his corner of the north-west.
As the Lancashire FA’s senior football development officer, he works closely with clubs at grassroots level and above including both young players and adults.
That includes helping them to broaden their reach, open new avenues in the game and even playing an active role in ensuring a respectful and enjoyable atmosphere remains in place during matches.
De Nobrega helps clubs in Lancashire to receive Charter Standard status
And after a career spent working within football, it is clear that the grassroots game is something particularly close to his heart.
"My first job was working at a sports centre where I started coaching football and that’s when I got first involved with a junior club, Lytham St. Anne’s YMCA," said De Nobrega.
"I soon started managing a team there and eventually got onto the committee, became club treasurer and welfare officer and Charter Standard co-ordinator as a community club.
"From there, I got a job at Blackpool Borough Council helping to develop football in the town and then I came to the Lancashire FA in 2004, so it’s been nearly ten years."
It is his experience at that level of the sport which has led him to the Lancashire FA’s base in Leyland, from where he helps now helps clubs all over the county.
Being able to advise clubs on how they can improve as organisations and help their players to further develop and enjoy the game, De Nobrega certainly has no problem filling his days.
"I tend to lead on club development,” he told TheFA.com.
"I oversee that part of the work by setting up service workshops and Charter Standard programmes on behalf of the county, helping them to attract funding and developing the club in terms of volunteers and putting on coaching courses.
"That covers grassroots football, so both junior and adult clubs and up to Step 5.
"We try to help clubs to sustain themselves, so for U18s clubs, that could be kit or new equipment or helping to pay for referee fees and league fees.
"So I often speak to clubs that might be struggling for finances or looking to develop further a little bit more support.
“We try to help clubs to sustain themselves”
Roger De Nobrega Lancashire FA
"I look after seven of our boroughs and The FA Community Awards selection process and all that goes with it.
"You can get a whole range of queries on any given days, whether it’s regarding age groups, Charter Standard application processes and finding details of coaches and adding them to our system.
"For instance, I had a phone call just yesterday about an individual who was setting up a club for the first time so was going through what that would involve, the partnerships that are out there and what sort of funding they might be able to attract.
"And then I was at a meeting with a club in the evening, going through the regulations of new goalposts."
The Lancashire FA has also been highlighted recently after running a ‘Silent Weekend’ of football in March, during which clubs and players from youth leagues around the county were urged to refrain from shouting from the sidelines or abusing officials and opponents.
And this weekend there is another event lined up with a mini-soccer festival planned in the county for Charter Standard youth clubs.
"We will have over 1,000 people here for the Mini-Soccer Festival, so it’s going to be another busy weekend," he said.
"And the Silent Weekend received really good coverage, on both TV and the radio to help make people aware of how the level of noise in terms of abuse and derogatory comments from managers, coaches and parents can affect players.
"The aim was to try and encourage better behaviour on the sidelines and most of the players seemed to enjoy it because there was less goading and everything else.
"And if it helps change behaviour in the long term, that was the aim of the programme."
For more details on the Lancashire CFA and their work, please visit www.lancashirefa.com
