Tanni Grey-Thompson DBE
Baroness Grey-Thompson
One of Britain's greatest Paralympic athletes, Tanni, amassed a remarkable medal haul over 16 years and five Paralympic Games of 11 gold, 4 silver and a bronze.
In 2005 she became ‘Dame’ Tanni Grey-Thompson for her services to sport. In March 2010, Tanni was created a life peer and was conferred as Baroness Grey-Thompson, of Eaglescliffe in the County of Durham.
http://www.tanni.co.uk/biography/
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Baroness Grey-Thompson
Patrick Vieira
Manager
Crystal Palace F.C
Considered one of the best players of his generation, Vieira played an integral part in Arsenal’s domestic success between 1997 and 2005 under Arsène Wenger, winning three Premier League titles and four FA Cups. He represented the north London club 396 times, and was named in the Premier League PFA Team of the Year for six consecutive years.
After leaving Arsenal, the midfielder went on to spend a season at Juventus, before securing more silverware at Inter Milan (three Serie A titles and two Supercoppa Italiana cup triumphs) and Manchester City (one FA Cup win) where he brought to a close a remarkable playing career in 2011.
On the international stage, Vieira made more than 100 appearances for France over a 12-year period, which included several spells as captain, winning the FIFA World Cup in 1998 and UEFA European Championship in 2000.
Having hung up his boots, Vieira began his transition into coaching at Manchester City’s Academy, embarking on a four-year apprenticeship in management that included a spell managing the club’s Elite Development Squad.
He departed City for the States and the 2016 Major League Soccer season, taking up the managerial position at New York City F.C, who had finished 17th the season prior. He led them to second place in the Eastern Conference in his first season, with the side finishing fourth place overall. The next season, another second place position in the Eastern Conference was secured, and Vieira’s side ended overall league runners-up.
Vieira subsequently returned to France to manage Ligue 1 club Nice in 2018, securing a seventh place finish in his first season - one place higher than their previous campaign. In 2019/20, Vieira’s side placed fifth in a curtailed season, securing a Europa League spot in the process. He took over as Crystal Palace manager in summer 2021 and took the club to an FA Cup semi-final in his first season.
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Manager
Crystal Palace F.C
Greg Rutherford
Olympic Athelete and Broadcaster
Former best long jumper in the world, Greg Rutherford has had an illustrious career in the world of athletics. World records, to Olympic golds, Commonwealth titles to British Championships, Greg Rutherford is one of the most decorated athletes in his event, and has since used his platform to become a presenter for sports and charity programmes.
As a track and field champion, Greg Rutherford is hailed as one of the best athletes that the UK has ever produced. Reaching the peak of his career in 2015, Greg Rutherford held every elite outdoor title in long jump, a total of six available wins, including the Diamond League, World Championship and Commonwealth. A highlight for Rutherford was gaining his first Olympic Gold medal on home ground at the 2012 London Olympic Games, the feat solidified him as a British icon and saw him recognised with a prestigious gold postbox as a sign of his victory. Currently, the British world record holder, Greg Rutherford’s highest jump recorded outdoors is 8.51 meters.
Evident from his youth was Greg Rutherford’s talent at sports. Proud owner of a European Athletics Lifetime Achievement Award and MBE as pronounced by the Queen, Greg Rutherford is one of Britain's best loved athletes and the former world number one long jumper.
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Olympic Athelete and Broadcaster
Per Mertesacker
Academy Manager
Arsenal F.C
The former German international, who made 104 appearances for his nation and won the World Cup in 2014, began his senior career at Hannover 96, making his senior league debut in November 2003. He joined Arsenal from Werder Bremen in 2011 and quickly established himself as a key component of Arsenal’s backline. Popular both with team-mates and fans, Per is one of only four players (along with Aaron Ramsey, Mesut Ozil and Olivier Giroud) to have featured in the final of Arsenal’s three victorious FA Cup finals in 2014, 2015 and 2017.
Per was announced as the new Arsenal Academy Manager in July 2018. He launched a “coaching for life” programme as part of the club's partnership with Save the Children in the Zaatari refugee camp to provide football pitches and training for coaches specifically in the area of detecting PTSD symptoms. He also works as a pundit for ZDF Germany covering the Champions League and the national team.
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Academy Manager
Arsenal F.C
Kyle Walker is a BBC Radio presenter, BBC Football Focus and Match Of The Day reporter and regularly works for Manchester City TV.
While he studied at the Academy of Live and Recorded Arts, Kyle worked for Nike and Kickz at their annual football tournament and awards ceremony.
Kyle has interviewed many high profile people within football, and of course one of them includes the other Kyle Walker, shortly after he signed for Manchester City from Spurs.
Since joining City TV, Kyle has worked at numerous events and featured heavily on the club's social media channels, as well as on City TV.
In 2018, Kyle landed his own show on BBC Radio Manchester called the ‘Dead Good Show’, on air every Thursday night from 7-10pm. Listen here.
Since 2019, he has hosted ‘Talking Balls’ on BBC 5live, on air Monday-Friday 6pm. Listen here.
As well as regularly reporting for BBC Football Focus and Match Of The Day, Kyle hosts the Sky Sports ePremier League Show, the Early Kick Off Show and is a guest on Sky's Saturday Social. Kyle is also a corporate event host for Barclays, as well as a presenter across JD Sports social media channels.
In 2021, Kyle became the presenter of Sky Sports’ Transfer Show and was nominated for an SJA Award in The Ones To Watch - On-Air category.
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Broadcaster
Tony Scholes
Chief Football Officer
Premier League
Tony joined the Premier League in January 2022 as their Chief Football Officer, with responsibility for all Football matters.
Tony was previously at Stoke City FC, as their Chief Executive, having joined them in September 2004. During his tenure he was a pivotal figure in Stoke’s progress, including a 10-year stay in the Premier League.
A former Director of the Football League and member of the FA Council, Tony previously spent six years as the Chief Executive of Preston North End, during which time the team progressed from League 2 to the Championship play off final, before leaving that post in 2002 to set up a sports lottery business. Tony has also served on the Rugby League Council and was a Founding member and trustee of the National Football Museum.
After graduating from Nottingham University, obtaining a degree in industrial economics, he began his career with KPMG, where he qualified as a Chartered Accountant.
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Chief Football Officer
Premier League
Neil Saunders
Director of Football
Premier League
Neil joined the Premier League in 2010 and has spent over a decade in various roles in youth development, including Head of Youth since 2016, before being appointed Director of Football in August 2021.
Neil is responsible for the delivery of the Premier League’s Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP), a long-term plan implemented in 2012, aimed at developing More and Better Home Grown Players for the English Professional Game.
In addition to his role at the Premier League, Neil is an Independent Non-Executive Director for the British Triathlon Federation, where he is the Board lead for Duty of Care, Safeguarding, Anti-Doping and Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion.
A former professional player, Neil graduated through Watford FC’s academy, and gained back-to-back promotions from the National League to League One whilst playing for Exeter City FC. He is also a Full International Futsal player, having represented the England Men’s Futsal National Team on four occasions.
Neil holds a 1st Class degree from the University of Bath and was awarded the British Olympic Association award for Academic Innovation. He also holds a Post-Graduate Certificate in Sports Law from Coventry University, the FA Level 5 for Technical Directors award, and is a qualified Board practitioner
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Director of Football
Premier League
Marc Canham
Director of Coaching
Premier League
Marc is currently the Director of Coaching at the Premier League. Marc joined the Premier League in 2013, as Club Support Manager a role which focused on helping Clubs implement the Elite Player Performance Plan (EPPP). In 2017, Marc then took on a wider remit as the Premier League’s Head of Coaching, which involved working with Professional Game partners (The FA, LMA, PFA and EFL) to develop the Integrated Coaching Strategy and then in 2020, launch the Premier League's Elite Coaching Plan (ECP) before moving to his current Director of Coaching role in August 2021. During this time, he also worked in collaboration with the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) to create the Elite Referee Developmemt Plan (EDRP).
Marc is a former player and started his young professional career at Colchester United where he spent 3 years on a scholarship programme before completing a short stint at AFC Bournemouth. He then headed to Bath University to compete for Team Bath FC for six seasons whilst studying for a degree in Coach Education and Sport Development. He also made 38 appearances for the England futsal team.
Following his playing career, Marc took his first Club coaching role at Bristol FC before moving to The FA as a FA Skills Coach. His next role would be Head of Academy Coaching role Bristol City FC.
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Director of Coaching
Premier League
Chris Grant
Chair - EPFICB
English Professional Football’s Integrated Coaching Board
Chris chairs English Professional Football’s Integrated Coaching Board, a partnership between the FA, Premier League, EFL, LMA and PFA. Since 2016, he has been an Independent Board Member of Sport England, where he has focused on widening participation in sport and activity for all, and been the driving force in initiatives aiming for national teams and leaders in sport to reflect the broader population.
Chris has worked extensively within the High Performance sport system, not least as a lead tutor on UK Sport’s Elite Coach Programme. He was Deputy Chair of International Inspiration, the ground-breaking London 2012 International Development Programme, and has also sat on Comic Relief’s UK Grants Committee. He chaired the judging of the UK’s Sport Industry Awards from 2015 to 2021.
In 2018, Chris stepped down as CEO of Sported, the UK-wide charity supporting 2000+ community clubs using sport for social outcomes. This was an interlude in what has mainly been a consultancy career, focusing on organisational culture, change and learning. He chaired the UK Chip & PIN Programme Board, and has worked extensively across the public, private and voluntary sectors. He has spoken at events ranging from the World Cities Forum to the NHS Medical Directors’ Conference. In September 2021, Chris became a member of the Financial Services Culture Board.
Chris studied French at Manchester University, where he also spent a sabbatical year as independent General Secretary of the Student’s Union. Later, Chris completed an MSc. in organisational development and group dynamics. His early career included a spell working for the Parliamentary Black Caucus. He has compiled a body of work on group leadership, and his book, “Better Decisions”, was published by Quarto in June 2020.
Chris has endured the lifelong turmoil interspersed with shafts of glorious sunlight that go with being a Palace fan. He and his wife Lenneke have 4 grown-up children.
In the 2021 Queen’s Birthday Honours, Chris was awarded an OBE for services to sport
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Chair - EPFICB
English Professional Football’s Integrated Coaching Board
Paul Barber
CEO
Brighton & Hove Albion FC
Paul Barber joined the board of Brighton & Hove Albion FC as chief executive in June 2012. In his first season with Brighton, the club secured its highest league position for over 30 years, made the Championship play-offs, enjoyed the highest average attendances in its division, and signed its largest-ever shirt sponsorship agreement, a multi-year deal with American Express.
Paul was named Overall CEO of the Year for England and Scotland, as well as Championship CEO of the Year, at the Football Industry Awards 2013, and won the Sports Executive of the Year at the 2016 International Stadium Business Awards.
Having taken part in three EFL Championship play-offs in four seasons, Brighton narrowly missed out on automatic promotion to the Premier League, by virtue of goal difference, in 2016. A year later, the club achieved automatic promotion to the Premier League and subsequently finished 15th in its first season.
Paul’s career in professional football has spanned close to 25 years, during which time he has held senior positions at Vancouver Whitecaps FC, Tottenham Hotspur FC, and The Football Association.
Paul has served on various committees for the Premier League, The EFL, The FA, UEFA and FIFA, including The EFL’s board and The FA’s Professional Game Board. Most recently, Paul was elected by clubs to be a Premier League representative on The FA Council. Paul also currently serves as one of The FA’s international ambassadors.
In November 2018, Barber was appointed as the club's deputy chairman following unanimous approval from the board and also became the Premier League's representative to the Professional Game Board, replacing the outgoing Arsenal CEO Ivan Gazidis.
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CEO
Brighton & Hove Albion FC
Steve Parish
Chairman
Crystal Palace F.C
Steve Parish has been chairman of Crystal Palace since 2010 when he formed CPFC 2010 with three other supporters to save the Club he has followed from boyhood, which was on the brink of liquidation. The Club has just completed a record ninth season in the Premier League. Opening Crystal Palace’s new £20m Academy in 2021 with England manager Gareth Southgate, Parish promised it would teach resilience and life skills, as well as nurturing the best footballing talent and becoming a focal point for the community.
Parish is a respected campaigner on football issues; in 2020, his support for Project Restart was instrumental in the return of Premier League matches during the coronavirus pandemic and he has been an outspoken critic of plans for a European Super League.
Parish was previously CEO of Tag Worldwide, an advertising production business which employed nearly 3,000 employees in 13 countries, before selling the business in 2011. He was also an accomplished racing driver, racing in events such as the Porsche Carrera Cup at racetracks including Snetterton and Rockingham.
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Chairman
Crystal Palace F.C
Steve Holland
Assistant Manager - England National Team
The FA
Steve Holland joined the England coaching set up initially on a part-time basis to assist Gareth Southgate with the MU21s in August 2013.
Following Southgate’s appointment as England men’s senior manager in November 2016, Holland moved up to a full-time role bringing an end to a glittering coaching career with Chelsea.
During Holland’s eight years with the club, Chelsea won two Premier Leagues, the UEFA Champions League, the UEFA Europa League, the FA Cup and the EFL Cup.
Following a short-lived playing career due to injury, Holland’s coaching career started at the age of 22 where he worked his way through the ranks at Crewe Alexandra before a brief spell at Stoke City.
With the Three Lions, his honours include a UEFA European Championship final, FIFA World Cup semi-final and a third-place finish at the inaugural UEFA Nations League.
Holland was awarded an MBE for his services to Association Football in the 2022 New Year Honours.
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Assistant Manager - England National Team
The FA
John McDemott
Technical Director - The F.A
The F.A
John joined The FA as Assistant Technical Director from Tottenham Hotspur, where he was the head of academy coaching and player development and responsible for all sides below the Premier League club’s first team. As a coach, John has worked with many of the brightest young players and coaches in the game across his years of experience with Tottenham Hotspur, Watford and the FA. In his 15 years at Spurs, he oversaw their academy and helped to bring through future England internationals such as Harry Kane, Danny Rose, Steven Caulker, Andros Townsend, Jake Livermore, Harry Winks and Ryan Mason, as well as a considerable number currently in the Young Lions pipeline.
John has also helped develop the careers of many, within coaching and recruitment, including Scott Parker, Matt Wells, Alex Inglethorpe, Chris Ramsey and Richard Allen. McDermott has also worked closely with Tim Sherwood, Mauricio Pochettino and then José Mourinho in support of the Spurs first team. Prior to his work with Tottenham Hotspur and the FA, John began his coaching career with Watford and worked his way up to become their academy manager. John became the FA’s Technical Director in January 2020.
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Technical Director - The F.A
The F.A
Neil Critchley
Head Coach
Blackpool FC
Neil Critchley is an English former footballer who played in the Football League First Division for Crewe Alexandra. He is now the head coach of Blackpool, having left his post as Liverpool's under-23s manager on 2 March 2020. He has previously managed Liverpool under-18s and stood in for Jürgen Klopp for two of Liverpool's cup fixtures in the 2019–2020 season.
He is one of sixteen coaches worldwide to have obtained UEFA's elite badge.
Critchley guided Blackpool to promotion, via the playoffs, from League One to the Championship in 2020–21, his first full season in charge of the club.
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Head Coach
Blackpool FC
David Adams
FAW Technical Director | Chief of Football
FAW
• UEFA | FAW Pro Course Director.
• FAW | UEFA Pro Licence Holder.
• BSc | Msc; Coaching Science
• PhD: Coaching Effectiveness
• Former Head Of Coaching at Swansea City & Everton
• Former U23’s Head Coach at Swansea City
• Head Coach | Assistant Manager at Swansea City AFC
• Finished 12th in Premier League in season 2015-16.
Assistant Manager at Middlesbrough FC
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FAW Technical Director | Chief of Football
FAW
Noel Mooney
FAW Chief Executive
FAW
• FAW chief executive
• 8 years head of strategic development @ UEFA
• Senior marketing manager @ UEFA
• FAI CEO - Seconded from UEFA
About Noel Mooney
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FAW Chief Executive
FAW
Iain Brunnschweiler
Head of Technical Development
Iain is a former professional cricketer, playing first class cricket for Hampshire between 2000 and 2003. After playing he became the Assistant and Fitness Coach at Hampshire until November 2011, when he left the Rose Bowl to take up a development role with England. He was Head of Talent & Performance Coaching at UK Coaching, before joining Southampton FC in 2017 in the role of Coach & Player Development Manager. He held that position for four years before being appointed to the newly formed role of Head of Technical Development this year.
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Head of Technical Development
Iffy Onuora
Head of Race Equality
Iffy is Head of Race Equality at The Premier League, having been appointed in April 2021. Amongst his duties, he’s Chair of the PL’s Black Participants Advisory Group (BPAG), and leads on the PL’s flagship, No Room For Racism, action plan.
Prior to this he’d spent nine years working for the Players Union (the PFA), in a joint role as Coach Educator and Equalities Executive. As part of his role there, he was a Trustee of the anti-racism organisation, Kick It Out, and sat on the FA Council as part of the FA’s Inclusion and Advisory board.
Before joining the PFA in 2013, he’d taken several Coaching roles as an Assistant Head Coach and Head Coach both in the UK and abroad, and all this after a fifteen-year playing career spanning three decades.
Having grown up on Merseyside, he’s a lifelong and long-suffering Everton fan, and with a well-honed jealousy of near neighbours Liverpool FC, he’s intent on sharing his current allegiances with both Man City and Real Madrid for the remainder of the season !
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Head of Race Equality
Ed Barney
Performance Director
England and Great Britain Hockey
Ed Barney has an extensive background in elite sport as an athlete, coach and over the Tokyo and Paris Olympic cycle as Performance Director for England and Great Britain Hockey. As the youngest Performance Director of a major British Olympic sport, Ed has led England and Great Britain Hockey senior teams to multiple Olympic, European and Commonwealth Games medals.
As an athlete, Ed had a highly successful career competing as a professional sailor ranked inside the top 10 in the world. After retiring from competition, Ed coached youth sailors a National Coach to back-to-back world championship gold medals.
Ed has a PhD in talent identification and the prediction of future performance. Previously, he worked in a talent scientist role for the England and Wales Cricket Board, before leading talent programmes for GB Hockey, supporting an unprecedented level of progress and performance in junior international programmes.
GB Hockey is widely regarded as a programme that excels both in on-pitch performance and the holistic support of all its people (players and staff) and this is something that sits firmly at the core of Ed’s passions and leadership approach.
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Performance Director
England and Great Britain Hockey
Nathan Marshall
Education Manager
Brighton and Hove Albion
Nathan has worked in Academy football for close to 10 years working at Crystal Palace, Watford and now Brighton and Hove Albion. Nathan has worked throughout the Youth Development Phases holding various different positions across Physical Performance, Coaching, Education and Welfare. Nathan is currently employed at Brighton and Hove Albion as Education Manager. Nathan an experienced teacher plied his trade in Further Education as a Course Leader across Level 1, 2 and 3 qualifications and was nominated for Outstanding Teacher of the Year. Nathan has a passion for working with young people and holistic youth development.
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Education Manager
Brighton and Hove Albion
Jason Wilcox
Academy Manager
Manchester City FC
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Academy Manager
Manchester City FC
Anwar Uddin
Assistant Manager - England C team
Anwar Uddin is a former professional footballer and current Assistant Manager with the England C team. The UEFA A-Licence coach, who became the first British Asian player to captain a team in the English Football League, also leads on the Fans for Diversity campaign which is a joint project between the Football Supporters’ Association (FSA) and Kick It Out.
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Assistant Manager - England C team
Juan Florit Zapata
Head of Football Department
LaLiga
Juan Florit is LaLiga’s Head of Football Department and a UEFA Pro coach with experience in different categories of Spanish football. He holds a degree in Sport Sciences and a MBA in Sport Management, studies he combined with practicing football as a player, having played in professional academies such as Atlético de Madrid.
He has been part of LaLiga’s Football Department since its inception in 2015, having played a key role in the international development of LaLiga and its youth football, leading more than 450 projects carried out in 42 countries on five continents. He is also linked to the academic world as director and lecturer on the Master in Football Management, Methodology and Analysis at LaLiga Business School.
Passionate about the world of sport and football, he has had the opportunity to have lived and experienced this environment from practically every angle: as a player, coach, technical director, and founder and manager of a football services and consulting company.
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Head of Football Department
LaLiga
Ajoscha Bonarius
Youth Quality Manager
DFL
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Youth Quality Manager
DFL
Gary Issot
Adademy Director
Crystal Palace FC
Gary started his career in the football industry as a professional player at Luton Town and subsequently went on to represent a series of non-league clubs. Gary joined Tottenham Hotspurs as an Academy Coach in 2000 alongside working for the Football Association as a Coach Educator. In 2004, Gary took up a coaching position at Crystal Palace, working within the Professional Development Phase. He was later appointed Academy Director at the Club, a position he has held for over 10 years. Gary oversaw the recent development of the Training Ground and recent successful application for the Club to become a Category 1 Academy. During his tenure, Gary has supported a number of Academy Players to making their Premier League debut, including Wilfred Zaha, Nathaniel Clyne, Aaron Wan-Bissaka & Tyrick Mitchell.
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Adademy Director
Crystal Palace FC
Duncan Locke
Head of Performance Intelligence
RFU
After starting his career in a multi-sport Performance Analysis role at the English Institute of Sport, Locke spent four years in the same organisation supporting British Cycling. This included providing support to Team GB in the lead-up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, an event which saw Great Britain secure fourteen medals, including eight golds, in cycling events.
In 2010 he joined the RFU’s Professional Rugby department, initially in the role of Senior Performance Analyst embedded with the England Men’s Senior Team. Between 2010 and 2016 he provided Performance Analysis support at over 75 test matches, including two world cups and six 6 Nations tournaments. Since 2017 he has led the organisations Performance Intelligence Department incorporating, England Team Analysis support, Performance Data Strategy and Performance Systems and Research.
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Head of Performance Intelligence
RFU
Gareth Bloomfield
British Army Psychologist
British Army
As a chartered psychologist my research and subject matter expertise is ‘psychological resilience, wellbeing & performance’. Day to day I deliver leadership training in these subjects as well as the neuropsychology of leadership with a wide range of military and UK diplomatic partners.
Prior to my work at the Royal Military Academy, I worked as a psychologist for the UK National Health Service, in Mental Health and Neurological Services. Prior to that I was a Police Detective performing various roles as a counter-terrorist officer and team Sgt on organised crime surveillance teams, using some valuable skills learnt during my time in the Royal Marines.
Regularly undertaking work outside of the military keeps my outlook fresh and widens my experience. I have provided psychological resilience CPD’s for The Premier League since 2019 and I have learnt much whilst running performance and resilience coaching courses for blue- chip organisations.
Police investigation and psychology experience helps me ask questions and understand the “what and why “ of situations. But to a large extent, like most of us, I have learnt about human behaviour by reflecting on my own experiences, emotions and actions, as a son, friend and talking openly with those around me.
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British Army Psychologist
British Army
Andy Haworth
Chief Strategy Officer
Premier League
Andy joined the Premier League in February 2021 in the new role of Chief Strategy Officer.
With the Chief Executive and Executive Leadership Team (ELT) members, he is responsible for devising, maintaining and monitoring the Premier League’s short, medium and long-term strategic plans, ensuring Clubs and staff understand and feel connected to those plans. Andy is also responsible for risk management and the Business Intelligence department.
Prior to joining the Premier League, Andy spent 12 years at the BT Group, most recently as Managing Director, Sports Rights and Commercial, and before that as Managing Director, Strategy and Content and Consumer Strategy Director, when he was responsible for end to end strategy development across all BT products areas and rights and data development supporting all major business and strategic decisions.
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Chief Strategy Officer
Premier League
Kurt Husnu
U14 Coach
Southampton F.C
Kurt has been coaching since 2003 and is now a coach at Southampton FC. He has held previous roles supporting the England U15, U16 and U18 squads. Kurt is part of a current Coach Inclusion and Diversity Scheme cohort.
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U14 Coach
Southampton F.C
Mike Scott
Head of Coach Development
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C
Mike Scott has over 22 years experience working in Academy football in various roles which has included YDP Lead Coach, U18s Lead Coach and Head of Coaching. He has worked at clubs such as Birmingham City FC, Walsall FC, West Bromwich Albion FC, Derby County FC and Aston Villa FC. Mike is currently the Head of Coach Development at Wolverhampton Wanderers FC. Mike is currently on EHOC
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Head of Coach Development
Wolverhampton Wanderers F.C
Scott Gardener
U18 Lead Coach
Leeds United F.C
Scott has been a coach at Leeds United FC since 2012. He has been the U18 Lead Coach for two seasons having worked across all phases from Pre-Academy to PDP. Scott is currently on ECAS.
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U18 Lead Coach
Leeds United F.C
Manisha Tailor
Assistant Head of Coaching
Queens Park Rangers F.C
Manisha Tailor MBE first became a football coach in 2002 when she set up and ran sessions for pupils at the Hindu primary school where she was a teacher. A decade later, she changed career from a Deputy Headteacher, to work full-time in football.
She founded Swaggarlicious, an organisation that uses community football sessions to engage with minority groups including women and girls, and especially those with mental health challenges.
She took workshops to schools with Show Racism the Red Card and later became Head Coach at Middlesex Girls Centre of Excellence, as well as Centre Manager.
Manisha is vice-chair for BASPA (Coaching) and the first person of South Asian heritage to become Assistant Head of Coaching at QPR Boys’ Academy.
In 2017 she received an MBE for services to football and diversity in sport.
In April 2021 she authored ’50 Wellbeing Lessons for the Diverse Primary Classroom’ published by Routledge Education.
In September 2022 Manisha is set to release ‘Dream Like Me: South Asian Football Trailblazers’ – a children’s book set to inspire South Asian children all over the world.
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Assistant Head of Coaching
Queens Park Rangers F.C
Matt Jones
Executive Principal at Ark Globe Academy
Ark Globe Academy
Recently awarded an OBE, Matt started his career as a professional footballer before pursuing a career in education and is a Graduate of Ambition School Leadership's 'Future Leaders' Programme. Matt is currently the Executive Principal at Ark Globe Academy and Ark Evelyn Grace Academy, where student outcomes at Ark Globe Academy are in the top 10% nationally for similar schools, and in the top 2% for Sixth Form progress for A Level and Vocational provision. Matt is also founder and chair of 'The Elephant Group' charity; it aims to ensure fair access for non-selective state school students in progressing to our top third Universities in the UK
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Executive Principal at Ark Globe Academy
Ark Globe Academy
Scotty Mills
Royal Marines (Ret’d)
Scotty Mills has led a life that he could never have dreamt of. From the backstreets of South London, he went onto serve his country and lead Britain’s Commandos around the globe as a Commando ‘Green Beret’ Officer. In 2003, operating alongside the US Navy Seals, he led a team of Marines into Iraq as ‘first on the ground’ theatre entry troops and has deployed on missions all around the world.
As Commanding Officer, he led a team of recovery specialists who were responsible for rebuilding the lives of hundreds of battle-scarred physically and mentally broken injured service people across all 4-Armed Forces.
A World Record breaker, he was selected as an Olympic Flag Bearer at the London 2012 Olympic Games. As Head of Performance for all 6500 Commandos, he has worked closely alongside multiple elite sports teams worldwide including Olympic Gold medallists and World Cup winners.
More recently, as an advisor to the FA, he inspired the England Manager Gareth Southgate OBE, Captain Harry Kane MBE and the England Football Team to develop their culture through innovative leadership and team cohesion training that saw them come together and perform when the pressure was on.
Known as “Gareth’s Secret Weapon”, a term coined by the renowned TV Presenter Lorraine Kelly, Scotty has built up a very strong reputation internationally for being able to inspire others to reach their full potential. In 2018 he was voted the most inspirational serviceman across the entire Armed Forces community receiving a National Award.
Scotty’s incredibly compelling story is filled with exceptional stories of the power of human inspiration. Now an accomplished motivational speaker, and as a performance leadership and culture specialist, Scotty is highly sought after across multiple industries to continue his life’s work to ‘Inspire people and teams’ to achieve their impossible dreams.
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Royal Marines (Ret’d)
Chris Thurston
Player Care Manager - Hale End
Arsenal FC
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Player Care Manager - Hale End
Arsenal FC
Paul-Hervé Douillard
Head of Federal Performance Projects
FFF
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Head of Federal Performance Projects
FFF
Alessandro Barcherini
Goal Keeping Coach
Leeds United FC
Alessandro is currently working between the U23 and 1st Team where he has the youngest cohort of 4 x 1st team goalkeepers in the Premier League at 22, 21, 18, 18 years old respectively.
He previously worked as a GK coach at Stoke City/ Notts County. Prior to this he worked as Head of Football at Nottingham Trent University where he also earned a degree and masters degree in Sports Science.
About Alessandro Barcherini
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Goal Keeping Coach
Leeds United FC
Laurence Halstead
Performance Consultant
Laurence is a two-time British Olympic fencer, multiple European medallist, who competed in the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Games. After more than a decade of performing at the highest levels of sport, Laurence hung up his swords and took on a role as the Performance Director of a national federation alongside becoming the director of mentoring at UK charity, The True Athlete Project. In 2021 Laurence published his first book, which introduces and describes a practical philosophy for flourishing in sport, one that goes far beyond the results and medals to rediscover the true value of being an athlete. Laurence now works as a performance consultant and coach in both sport and business as well as continuing to drive mentoring programmes.
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Performance Consultant
Sally Needham
Academy Human Development and Performance Culture Lead
Sheffield United F.C
Sally joined The FA in 2007 as one of the original 66 employed for The FA Skills Programme. She went onto hold various positions within the programme before taking up the role as County Coach Developer for Derbyshire. Sally holds the Advanced Youth Award in 5-11 years and holds the UEFA A Licence. Over the past few years Sally has taken child development, social attachment and the latest in neuroscience and applied it into the context of football resulting in her work being used on courses, CPD events within the grassroots and professional game along with completing a MSc in Sports Coaching around this topic area.
Sally left The FA in October 2020 taking up a part time role at Sheffield United Academy implementing neuroscience across the academy working with coaches and the players. Along with setting up her own consultancy business 4Growth where she provides bespoke workshops to other academies and organisations around the topic of neuroscience. Whilst still being an FA Tutor on the UEFA B and Advanced Youth Award.
Sally is currently doing a Professional Doctorate in Elite Performance capturing the application of neuroscience in Sheffield United Academy and has recently gone into a full time position at Sheffield United Academy as Academy Human Development and Performance Culture Lead whilst continuing her consultancy business and tutoring for The FA.
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Academy Human Development and Performance Culture Lead
Sheffield United F.C
Claire Mullord
Assistant Principal
The BRIT School
Claire Mullord brings 15 years of experience working in state funded South London schools as a Humanities teacher, Head of Citizenship, Head of Year and Director of Sixth Form before moving to the UK’s leading performing and creative arts free school - The BRIT School as Assistant Principal. In 8 years, Claire has developed the ethos of the BRIT School to put student experience at the centre. She leads on admissions, additional educational needs, safeguarding, pastoral care, and careers with the intention of providing holistic care that enables students to thrive from application through to life after BRIT- a shelter and a springboard.
The BRIT School has always had the student experience at its core, showing priority and a commitment to well-being and mental health and developing characteristics for career success illustrated by its 10,000 plus alumni working across the creative industries and beyond.
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Assistant Principal
The BRIT School
Carys Dalton
Player Care Coordinator, Chelsea FC
Chelsea F.C
Carys has worked within Player Care in Academy Football for just over 3 years, working with players from U9 right through to U23. Player Care is an area of football which is continuously evolving and developing, and being part of its growth is an area Carys is proud to support. With an academic background in sport psychology, a love of football and a keen interest in the impact that wellbeing has on elite performance, Player Care is her perfect role.
Carys is currently working as Player Care Coordinator at Chelsea Football Club, primarily working with the Full Time Players U15-U23, having previously worked at Norwich City. Carys’s role requires supporting and empowering players on and off the pitch, with a focus on areas such as personal development, mental health and wellbeing, accommodation, induction and aftercare, and much more - players are always at the centre of her work and passion.
“Through investing in relationships with players, parents, and staff, we can prioritise the individual needs of all our players, helping us to not only develop great players, but great people too.”
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Player Care Coordinator, Chelsea FC
Chelsea F.C
Kevin Taylor
Hostage Negotiator
As a Hostage Negotiator Kevin has years of experience communicating in the most difficult and challenging situations, from Kidnap and Barricade Siege Negotiation to Suicide Intervention and negotiating the surrender of Dangerous Offenders at large. With over 27 years experience in a wide variety of policing disciplines, his experience includes both overt and covert policing roles; and ranges from walking the beat as a uniformed officer to a senior leadership role as a Chief Inspector responsible operational policing. A UK trained hostage negotiator and graduate of the FBI’s hostage negotiation program, Kevin is passionate about the work of hostage negotiators and continues to be one of the driving forces behind the development of hostage negotiation, and kidnap negotiation training in the UK and Internationally.
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Hostage Negotiator
Chris McCready (Dr)
Academy Player Care
Manchester United FC
Chris began his career in the football industry as a professional player at Crewe Alexandra and went on to make over 300 appearances in the Football League. During his career as a footballer, Chris studied an undergraduate degree in Science and Football at Liverpool John Moores University, achieving first class honors.
Chris ended his playing career in May 2017 and subsequently joined Manchester United, taking up a position within the Player Care Department in the Academy.
Chris has subsequently completed a PhD in Identity & Personal Development which focused on supporting young players to develop their understanding of their identity alongside football performance.
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Academy Player Care
Manchester United FC
Daniel Jinadu
Professional Player
Barnsley FC
Daniel began his Academy Journey at Chelsea before moving to West Ham United to undertake a scholarship. During this time, he achieved the highest standards within his education programme, including an A* in A-Level Psychology. He has represented Nigeria at youth level and was selected to play for their U17s in the World Cup held in Brazil.
Daniel was subsequently offered a professional contract at the East London Club. Daniel is focused on developing his identity and successfully applied to study a BSc Hons in Psychology at UEL.
At the start of the 2021/2022 season, Daniel joined Barnsley on a professional contract. He has continued to combine his career with his academic studies. He was recently awarded the PFA Community Champion for volunteering work he has undertaken.
Daniel is passionate about holistic development and has created a YouTube channel called ‘Beyond Football’ in which he promotes the importance of personal development. He has also produced a series of podcasts.
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Professional Player
Barnsley FC
Andy Cole
Business Psychologist
Andy is a Business Psychologist and Executive Coach. His consulting practice covers leadership consulting, organisational development, coaching, corporate education, and experiential team development.
Andy brings energy and enthusiasm to his work, with a reputation for taking a pragmatic, problem solving approach - to help people become more resourceful and solution focused.
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Business Psychologist
Miles Lloyd
CEO - Level=
Level=
Miles' expertise spans the worlds of Sports Business, Talent Acquisition and Business Consultancy. Miles is CEO of Level= a 'consciously inclusive talent acquisition solutions provider' for sports organisations, he provides leadership coaching & mentoring to sports business leaders from grass roots level via Sported up to elite level with The Premier Leagues' EAM and EHOC programmes, as well as acting as a mentor on the Welsh FA's Be.Football programme aimed at supporting more gender diversity in football organisations. Miles is also a NED for Barnsley Premier Leisure, and is passionate about the value that active lifestyles can bring to individuals and the wider community.
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CEO - Level=
Level=
Yvonne Harrison
CEO - Women in Football
Women in Football
Equality is a huge passion for Yvonne, from grassroots participation to the boardroom. Yvonne became Women in Football CEO in January 2022.
She began her career with Manchester-based charity GreaterSport, where she later became CEO and led the charity to unprecedented success, being recognised by The Charity Times Awards and the Northwest Institute of Directors. In 2018 Yvonne became Managing Director for Project 92, overseeing the sport and education portfolio for the Class of 92. In 2020 Yvonne established sports consultancy StryveUK, alongside her work in a Non-Executive Director capacity, as a coach and mentor and is Chair of Trustees for Foundation 92.
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CEO - Women in Football
Women in Football
Josh Denington
Insight and Research Lead
London Sport Consultancy
Josh has 5 years mixed methods research experience in the Sport for development sector, with a particular focus on hard to reach communities, inactive participants, and holistic youth development through physical activity. Josh’s career began in impact measurement with Grassroot Soccer, focused on positive youth development through sport across Southern Africa and he previously managed the monitoring and evaluation function at Greenhouse Sports in London, where he was responsible for the longitudinal, life skill, impact tracking of 7000 sports participants on an annual basis. More recently Josh has worked to support the Premier League to better understand the impact of the academy process on youth players.
Josh leads the insight and research area of London Sport Consultancy, helping clients to understand their audiences, evaluate their impact, engage communities, and support with strategic planning.
Josh has a BA (hons) in Geography from the University of Manchester and is an Office for National Statistics Accredited Researcher.
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Insight and Research Lead
London Sport Consultancy
