A welcome message from the new Chair of the FWA, John Cross of the Mirror
Dear Member
First and foremost, I am so honoured to have been made chair of the Football Writers’ Association. It is truly one of the proudest achievements of my career. I am so passionate about representing all members, ensuring the FWA looks after your interests and makes everyone feel welcome.
We should always be grateful to the tireless efforts of our executive secretary, Paul McCarthy, in ensuring the FWA’s wellbeing. We now have a family of sponsors who not only ensure the financial protection of the Association but will also give exciting new opportunities for members. William Hill have shown remarkable loyalty down the years and they are now joined by FedEx Express, Football Manager, dataPOWA and a long-running relationship with Sky Sports.
Football Manager is concentrating on education and includes four student bursaries which should provide exciting opportunities, particularly for those who are not well represented in the industry.
I would like to welcome four new additions to the book committee in Professor Jean Williams, Jade Craddock, Holly Bacon and Asif Burhan. This past year has been a particularly exciting one for football books with so much quality writing on such a broad and different theme of topics and issues. It’s an exciting time for the industry and, in my opinion, the standard of writing has never been higher.
We owe a huge debt of gratitude to John Ley whose tireless work makes the FWA Handbook such an important and invaluable tool for every member. With very good reason John is affectionately known as StatMan!
We have two dinners in the diary to look forward to. The first is the 41st FWA Northern Managers Awards Dinner on Sunday, November 6, at the Edwardian Hotel, Manchester. This year, there will be 11 award-winning managers. Secondly, the FWA Tribute Night will be at the Landmark Hotel, London, on Sunday, February 26. Full details of the dinner will follow shortly.
John Cross
Chief Football Writer
Daily Mirror
