David Davies (football administrator)
David Davies
BBC, 1971–1994
Davies began his journalistic career briefly in Belfast before joining
From 1983, he presented the BBC News and the
From 1989 to 1994, he presented BBC
He covered every
Football Association, 1994–2006
Davies served in a variety of senior roles at the FA in England until his retirement in 2006. They included director of communications and public affairs, head of football affairs, director of international strategy and executive director. He worked extensively in the preparation of the
Internationally, he served for eight years on the
During some turbulent years at the FA, he was described as "arguably the most powerful administrator in the English game"[9] in 1999 when he was acting chief executive and director of public affairs. He became widely known as The FA's "chief spin doctor"[8] for his crisis management of England team managers. He worked especially closely with managers Terry Venables, Glenn Hoddle, Kevin Keegan and Sven-Göran Eriksson. In 2008, two years after leaving The FA, his book FA Confidential[10] was published and became a bestseller. He also co-authored Glenn Hoddle's World Cup Diary in 1998.[11]
Other work
Davies was a member of the UK Government Football Task Force from 1997 to 2000 and was part of the UK Government Business, Culture and Sport delegation to China in 2005. He also chaired the UK Government Free To Air/Listed Events panel in 2008 and 2009.
Charity work
Davies helped to stage a Game of Peace in the Olympic Stadium in Kabul, Afghanistan in 2003. Between 2013 and 2016, he was a board member of International Inspiration,[16] a charity which promotes access to sport, play, and physical exercise for low and middle income families with children around the world. He was a founding member of football's anti-racism Kick It Out campaign in England,[17] and part of the initial sports steering group for the NSPCC. In 2014, he became a trustee for CAFE, which works across Europe for disability awareness, and is a Vice President of Level Playing Field which campaigns for accessibility to sport and sports stadia for disabled people in England and Wales.[18]
Personal life
Davies is a qualified teacher and holds a certificate of education from the University of Oxford and a BA (Econ) in politics from the University of Sheffield.[19]
He lives in the West Midlands of England near Birmingham with his wife Susan, and has two daughters, Amanda and Caroline, and one granddaughter, Molly. Amanda Davies is a sports correspondent and presenter for CNN International.[20]
Davies was awarded an OBE for services to sport in the 2007 New Year Honours.[21] He is also a Royal Television Society Member and Lancashire County Cricket Club. Since 2012, he has been a Council Member at the University of Birmingham, and most recently a governor of the University of Birmingham School.[7]
References
- ^ "Football Association: David Davies says governing body is 'screaming out for reform'". BBC Sport. 28 September 2016. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "David Davies OBE joins LPF as Vice President | Level Playing Field". www.levelplayingfield.org.uk. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "David Davies OBE signs for Soccerex". Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Appointment of new CAFE Director and Trustee – David Davies OBE | CAFE". www.cafefootball.eu. Retrieved 31 July 2018.
- ^ "Leadership Team – Portland Communications". Portland Communications. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ Ltd., 3 Square Associates. "North West Film Archive | BBC North West Archive". www.nwfa.mmu.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ a b "Mr David Davies – University of Birmingham". www.birmingham.ac.uk. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ a b "BBC News | UK | David Davies: The FA's public face". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "The Saturday Profile: David Davies – The presentable face of football". The Independent. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ISBN 9781847374028.
- ISBN 9780233994239.
- ^ "Review of Free to air Listed Events" (PDF). The National Archives. Archived from the original (PDF) on 12 May 2010.
- ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 21 August 2018.
- ^ http://www.pressdisplay.com/pressdisplay/zt/viewer.aspx Ex-England soccer chief helps HK
- ^ "David Davies OBE signs for Soccerex". Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 28 August 2018.
- ^ "International Inspiration | Committed to human and social development". Archived from the original on 21 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2014.
- ^ "Gordon Brown and Jeffrey Webb showing support for Kick It Out's 20 year anniversary". www.kickitout.org. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "Honorary officers". Level Playing Field. Retrieved 29 March 2021.
- The University of Sheffield. Retrieved 31 August 2018.
- ^ "CNN Profiles – Amanda Davies – Anchor and Correspondent – CNN". CNN. Retrieved 16 August 2018.
- ^ United Kingdom: "No. 58196". The London Gazette (1st supplement). 30 December 2006. p. 10.