Garth Crooks OBE
Garth has spent his entire adult life immersed in football and the politics of sport. He was introduced to the media in 1981 while preparing for the FA Cup Final. Having been left out of England’s World Cup Squad bound for Spain in 1982 he joined the BBC sports team as a television pundit. During those early years Garth consistently made contributions to numerous radio and television programmes.
Born in the Potteries he developed a love for the game and went on to play for his local team Stoke City in 1978. Garth moved to Tottenham Hotspur for a record fee in 1980 and soon established himself in what is still regarded as one of Tottenham’s most attractive teams. During his time at White Hart Lane he won the FA Cup in ’81 and ’82 followed by the UEFA cup in ‘84. He went on to play for Manchester United, West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic.
In 1990 he retired from the game through injury having scored over 200 goals and in ’93 became a full time contributor to the BBC sports department working as a presenter, analyst, and reporter for its flagship programmes Match of the Day, Football Focus and Grandstand.
Garth is currently one of the regular panellists on the BBC’s live interactive football result service ‘Final Score’. He has covered two Olympic Games (Atlanta ‘96 and Sydney 2000) four World Cup Finals and European Championships and the FIFA World Club Championships. He presented the BBC 2 coverage of the African Nations Cup in 2000 and 2004 followed by eight years as the BBC’s England National Team Football reporter.
While playing professional football Garth obtained a BSc Hon Degree in Social Science and Politics from North London University. He later went on to Kings College London to complete a Postgraduate Diploma in Sports Law. He has since utilised his degree in politics presenting the political programme Despatch Box live on BBC 2.
Garth has spent a considerable amount of time involved in issues surrounding Social Inclusion, Equity and Diversity. A special advisor to the Equality Human Rights Commission (EHRC) Garth has addressed the European Parliament, European Commission and UEFA on anti racial discrimination policies in football.
A member of the Professional Footballers Association Executive for eight years, he was appointed Chairman in 1988. Garth was invited by HRH Prince Philip to chair the Institute of Professional Sport in 1990, a position he held for thirteen years.
Appointed by the Secretary of State in’95 to the English Sports Council, Garth served two terms before stepping down in 2003. He has also served as a member of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office Caribbean Board from 2003-2004.
Garth chaired the Football Foundation Grass Roots Advisory Panel (2000-5) and a budget of £65m per annum; a charity set up by Government in partnership with the Football Association and The Premier League, to fund grass roots football
Garth created and chaired the charity Sickle Cell Anaemia Relief (SCAR) in 1985. SCAR was dedicated to raising funds for research into a rare blood disorder.
To date, nearly £500 000 has been raised to provide children with peripatetic teachers via their Education Project.
In 1999 he received the OBE in the Queens Birthday Honours List for services to Association Football.
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