Philip French with a young soccer player in Grand Bahama for the summer soccer camp (in 2007) which still run annually. The child's uniform came from from Blackburn Rovers (Photo: Robbin Whachell / TheBahamasWeekly.com)
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Freeport, Bahamas - One of the hard-working architects of Grand Bahama’s famed
annual soccer camps has been given a top job with the international Olympic movement.
Philip French, who at the time was major force at the
English Premier League, ensured the first four camps were a major success and
in the process touched the lives of hundreds of the island’s youngsters. He was also largely instrumental in a huge
expansion of the playing area at Freeport Rugby and Football Club where the
camp is held.
He has been head-hunted to become director of public affairs
and social development through sport for the International Olympic
Committee. His role, which he takes up
on April 1, will include liaising with the United Nations and other bodies “in
a bid to build a better world through sport,” according to the IOC.
His new role in Lausanne, Switzerland, will be a
far cry from the early days of the soccer camp, now in its twelfth year, when
he begged, borrowed and called in favours to convince former international
soccer players to travel to Freeport to coach the children and EPL clubs to
donate hundreds of uniforms in kids’ sizes for the campers, said camp organiser
Derek Archer.
The names he attracted were legends, including
Robbie Earle, who scored Jamaica’s first-ever World Cup goal and England’s
Warren Barton, both now successful TV pundits, and star striker Luther
Blissett.
Left to right: Jamie Godbold, the late Sir Jack Hayward, and Philip French during the Grand Bahama Summer Soccer Camp in 2008 (Photo: Robbin Whachell / TheBahamasWeekly.com)
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When he was not helping the GB soccer camp French
spent much of his time working on the early TV rights deals for the EPL which saw
the league’s audience swell to billions each week, helping make it the
most-watched sporting organisation in the world that it is today.
Five years ago he moved from soccer to another major
sport – cricket, played by hundreds of millions worldwide. His role as director
of international relations and public policy at the England and Wales Cricket
Board saw him liaising with other leading countries in the sport.
In between he had been chief adviser on sport for
the British government, with responsibilities ranging from grass roots
activity to elite athlete funding for the Olympic Games in London in 2012. He is still involved in a number of
grassroots and charity projects – reflecting the same interest he showed in the
soccer camp.
The
International Olympic Committee is a not-for-profit independent international
organisation, which is committed to building a better world through sport. It
redistributes more than 90 per cent of its income to the wider sporting
movement, which means that every day the equivalent of $3.25 million goes to
help athletes and sports organisations at all levels around the world.
Its
best known role is to select the host cities for the Olympic Games, and then
work with the selected countries and cities during the run up to each event.
“This
will be the ideal platform for a guy who has made it his business to work
behind the scenes, not seeking any limelight, to make sport a success, and
particularly to help those who are disadvantaged maximize their talent, sporting
and otherwise,” said Archer.
“The
Sir Jack Hayward Soccer Camps have been a major success since the first was
held in 2004. The formula was set in the
early days and Phil played a huge part in that.
He still has a great interest in it and asks how it has gone each
year. Much of the current success of the
sport on the island, particularly the girls’ and the ladies side, is down to
his contributions and we owe him a big debt.”