A Bronze Medal
It was an incredible experience to be part of the England set-up at the World Cup in North America. The picture above shows me receiving my medal from my colleagues John McDermott (Technical Director) and Thomas Tuchel (Head Coach) on the plane as we waited to take off for home after winning the 3rd Place play-off against France. It was another real roller coaster of a competition. After a successful preparation camp in Florida, we won our group and progressed through the knockouts until the ultimate disappointment of losing to Argentina after being ahead with five minutes of normal time remaining. In between was the epic night in the Azteca Stadium when we overcame Mexico with ten-men at altitude and other memorable knock-out wins against Congo and Norway – both of which involved coming back from a goal down. While the exciting 6-4 win against France in Miami to secure third place will never make up for the heartbreak of the semi-final, it did mean we were the first England men’s team to win a World Cup medal and it represents our best ever result away from home. It has been a privilege to be part of the England staff – the team behind the team – these last three years. They are as talented, committed and fun people to be with as anyone will find.
Trinity School Bursary Event
A couple of weeks after going back to the University of Warwick I had the chance to speak at an event to promote bursaries for Trinity School where I spent seven years between 1977 and 1984 having earned a free place by passing exams.
These were mostly very happy times after a difficult transition – which can happen to people who don’t come from families that can afford private education. Private education remains controversial and the recent decision by the Government to out VAT on fees doesn’t help those who are struggling to afford it. I would hate for people like me not to have that chance. The school made such a difference to my development – both academically and socially (embedding important values and meeting different people) and for some people to earn that opportunity on merit has to be a good thing in my view. For sure it’s a privilege to go there but so is going to Oxford and Cambridge like most of the Government ministers that don’t approve of private education. Not everyone has access to a good enough state school to get them to Oxbridge and even people in the best state schools can struggle to get into top universities, which is where the Elephant Group, the charity I’m a trustee of comes in (see separate post). We all need different pathways to be available for us to succeed and I believe that for some people (like me) to be in that environment at that age is transformational, even if I could have done without playing rugby or a year in the Army cadets! I’m going to be donating personally to do my bit to help make bursaries more widely available.
My speech finished on a wider point than what a school like Trinity can do. It is not just about a better future for individuals that can benefit but can’t afford it without a bursary, its about what including people like me does for the institution. .
Warwick University Graduation
The number 60 – in particular 60 year anniversaries seems to be following me around. As I approach my 60thbirthday in late May, I’m working on trying to win the World Cup with the England men’s team for the first time in 60 years and I’ve been invited to speak at both my school (Trinity in Croydon) and University (Warwick). I hadn’t realised that Trinity is in its 60th year since moving to Shirley Park from central Croydon and Warwick opened its doors for the first time 60 academic years ago in 1965-66.
I don’t make a regular habit of going back to former institutions but both Trinity and Warwick mean a lot and are a big part of my story. Warwick is of course where Suzanne and I met so it was great that when I was invited to be alumni guest speaker at a graduation event she was able to come along to be part of it. We had a night back on campus to revisit some old haunts, a tour of the campus which has expanded vastly, and the graduation event itself was held in the Butterworth Hall in the Arts Centre – the exact venue where Suzanne and I met at the May Ball in 1987.
I donned academic dress for the first time in a while and gave a five minute speech about my career since I left the University and some of what I’ve learned in the process. It was great to be back and to reflect. The university kindly captured some of those reflections in an they published in May ahead of the World Cup. https://warwick.ac.uk/alumni/alumni-news/features/paul-cleal-obe/
Speakers House – Celebrating Our Trophy Wins
Did we ever really believe it would happen? Even as kids the idea that Palace might one day win the FA Cup, the oldest competition in the world, seemed the ultimate fantasy. In some ways getting tantalisingly close in 1990 and 2016 when on both occasions the team was winning against Manchester United within ten minutes of the final whistle, seemed to make a win further away. Of course the concentration of money within the bigger clubs has made it harder still. Almost no one outside the Big Six ever wins anything and many Premier League clubs have either never won or advent done so since colour TV came in. The winning of the FA Cup on May 17 was a dream made reality and it was followed by the Community Shield win over Liverpool in August. Like London Buses, as they say, you wait all this time (since 1861 in our case) and two come at once.
I first watched a match at Selhurst Park in 1974. Within a couple of years I was turning up at the ground to play football and was chosen to play in a grass roots team that the club established. As the beneficiary of free football, I grew in confidence, made friends, learned teamwork and mutual reliance – all things that helped me in my future career as a non-footballer. Now I’m chair of the board of trustees at the club’s official charity, Palace for Life. We provide free football for people like me (of fifty years) ago and alongside that help young people to flourish through education and employability programmes. It is a wonderful thing to be involved in.
The event at the Speaker’s House was an opportunity to tell our story (both the club and Palace for Life) to MPs, Lords and invited guests. What the club has achieved against the odds is proof of what we tell our young people. That if they persist, work hard and are determined they can achieve their potential and, who knows, even extraordinary things.
Inspiration
For the last couple of seasons my day job at the FA with the England team has overlapped with my volunteer role as chair of Palace for Life Foundation, Crystal Palace’s official charity. It was very special to have four Palace players (more than any other club) in the England squad that went to Euro 2024 in Germany. It was even more special to be able to spend time with some of the players who were common to the Euro final in 2024 and Palace’s legendary FA Cup win a year later. One of those is Marc Guehi, captain of the FA Cup winners and England regular. Marc asked me if he could do a school visit with Palace for Life when we were on an England camp in March 2025. I thought we would be able to fit it in at the end of the season but hadn’t reckoned with the distraction of the Cup run. Happily we were able to make diaries work and get Marc along to Riddlesdown Collegiate – only a couple of miles from where I grew up. Marc is a south Londoner of African descent and very much a humble leader. He is a great role model and an inspiration to young people. He gave up a couple of hours of his time to do an interview with me and then take questions from a group of around 25 students who were very engaged and will have taken away a lot of inspiration and practical advice from a future England captain – a young man whose career I have followed closely and very much admire.
So Close
Euro 2024 was my first major tournament with England. My role covers strategy (making sure we have the right resources at a big picture level and that we then deploy them in the way that best gives the coaches and players what they need to be successful) and operations (supporting my team to get the logistics in place). I have been a regular part of England camps throughout the season and was full time at the training camp ahead of the tournament and the base camp during the tournament in Germany. It was a long time away from home and quite an emotional roller coaster. We struggled through the group but won it, nearly lost to Slovakia in the round of 16 (rescued by a last second overhead kick by Jude Bellingham) and then retrieved deficits to win the quarter and semi finals in dramatic fashion. Coming from behind a fourth time in four games proved too much and we lost the final to Spain (see photo above before the game in Berlin). Being behind the scenes was an incredible experience.
Football Black-List
For once being black listed is a good thing! The Football Black List is a special set of awards that recognises and celebrates the contribution of people of African and African Caribbean heritage to the football industry. I am very proud to have been selected in the administration category this year. We know that so few people of Black heritage get the opportunity to take on leadership opportunities in football and that needs to change. My work on the No Room for Racism Action Plan for the Premier League has very much been centred on opening up career pathways to groups who are significantly under-represented in football’s corridors of power and influence.
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6859027481840623616
The Importance of Learning
In November at St George’s Park near Burton-on-Trent (headquarters to the England Football team) I was invited by to be a guest speaker at an event for those completing the Elite Academy Manager programme. After sharing a little of my story after dinner came the main event which involved me interviewing Leicester City (and former Liverpool and Celtic) manager Brendan Rodgers. It was hugely insightful to hear Brendan talk about how he developed into a top coach despite not having himself had a long elite playing career. His thirst for learning came out as a central part of his development and I was also impressed, in particular, by the way that throughout his career he has stuck to his principles and beliefs – even through the more difficult moments. Thanks to the Premier League for the opportunity to do this interview.
It’s a Marathon, not a sprint
Sometimes you get more than you bargained for. When, as part of my induction as a board member of Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, I spoke to the charity team I hadn’t thought about the free places for the London Marathon they might have! I mentioned that I ran a bit and before I knew it I was in! No more putting it off or saying that a marathon isn’t for me. Here were my thoughts a couple of days after the race which was an epic day.
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6853217064283369472
The Palace…at last!
It was a huge honour to be awarded the OBE in the 2020 New Year’s Honours List. Little did we know when we celebrated that last weekend of 2019 when the news broke that it would be another eighteen months before we finally made it to St James’s Palace to collect the precious medal. The first attempt in April 2020 was cancelled as we were in full lockdown but a Covid compliant ceremony was possible in late June. It was a lovely day and very nice afterwards to receive so many wonderful comments from friends and colleagues on LinkedIn in response to my post.
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6814929917130620928
No Room for Racism
In February 2021 the Premier League published its No Room for Racism Action Plan. I started leading the work on this the previous summer following the death of George Floyd and the subsequent Black Lives Matter protests and the decision by Premier League players to take the knee before each game in order to call for change in the area of racial equality. Here is a link to my post at that time.
https://www.linkedin.com/embed/feed/update/urn:li:share:6765173355906662400
As an added bonus, as part of promoting the Action Plan, Crystal Palace Football Club kindly featured me on their website and in the programme.
It was a great opportunity to look back to my formative experiences of racism and connect to what I’m doing now. Since my first trip to Selhurst Park in 1974, my love of football has been a real positive and I’ve seen how it can unite people by breaking down barriers.
In Parliament…at Home
In July 2020, for the first time in my career, I was called to give evidence at a Parliamentary Select Committee. I’ve been to the Houses of Parliament many times for other reasons but this occasion was also unique for being virtual. I appeared in front of the Committee to give evidence regarding inclusion and representation issues in sport. The TV recording is available below – notable among other things for “lockdown hair”!
https://parliamentlive.tv/Event/Index/b37ae132-3cb8-4643-9b91-d019871bcfaa
New Year’s Honours List News!
2019 had a number of highlights but it certainly saved the best to last with the announcement that I have been awarded an OBE in the 2020 New Year honours list for my work over many years promoting diversity and inclusion. It is a real honour (literally) to be recognised in this way and my family, friends and I look forward to the investiture ceremony in the early part of 2020.
In the Footsteps of My Father
The last quarter of 2019 brought an important moment for my family when it was announced that I would be joining the board of Guy’s & St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust as a non executive director. Guy’s is my local hospital but more importantly it is where my late father did his medical training. He came to London from Lagos by boat (via Liverpool) in 1948 and lived in Croydon where he met my mum. I appeared many years later but it’s because of Guy’s that I’m here at all! I’m so pleased to be able to continue his immense legacy in the healthcare sector by getting involved in the NHS at such a critical time and with one of the country’s leading Trusts. Dad is pictured below at home in Buea, Cameroon on the occasion of his 80th birthday in a replacement for his original Guy’s cap and gown that we got him as a present. The original went missing somewhere on his travels around Africa.
