its a shame that mobile phone cameras weren’t really a thing back in the 1990’s as the old adage of “A picture is worth a thousand words” would sure take some of the strain from my typing fingers!

What a picture it would have made when I first visited the F.A. Premier League offices at Lancaster Gate. Hursty* had arranged the meeting with the CEO, Peter Leaver QC who was also a Director of Spurs. I mention this fact simply to prove all my marbles are intact and I have the memory of a healthy young Savanna elephant. Given the likelihood i will need to exercise every grey cell I possess in a court of law if the Premier League and Budweiser continue to pretend none of this ever happened it is just as well!

Anyway, back to the tiny room under a stairwell at the Football Association offices at Lancaster Gate W2 London. Oh yes, I should add that with the League only in its 4th season when this meeting took place the Premier League offices were not quite as swanky and plush as they are today. A tiny office with 3 desks, 1 secretary, 1 admin clerk, the CEO and 20 club shirts were dotted around the walls on clothes hangers. Yup, not even in frames!

Some weeks later Hursty and I were sat in Langham’s Brasserie restaurant with Ossie* explaining what had gone down in the meeting and I remember Os in typical Os style saying out loud “WTF is a spurs fan doing running the F&%$ league? “Its bad enough they have got Sugar selling all his satellite dishes to punters so they can watch the games FFS!!! Fu%$* Tottenham!!

Probably worth noting at this point that it had not benefitted Spurs in as much they had never won the thing and 25 Years on they still haven’t!! Ossie then went on to start talking about his battles with Spurs over the Years especially Mike England their old centre half. Great company and hugely enthralling for this Chelsea nuts kid who had worshipped him from the terraces in the late 60’s and early 70’s when he truly was the “King of the Kings Road”

Anyway the rationale for telling this story is that Peter Leaver loved the idea of the British Football Hall of Fame we presented to him and he was happy to give his blessing for a section of it to feature the Premier League. Subject to criteria that would need to be drawn up by FA legal team of course. And no, in case you are wondering, he did not want any remuneration for it. He was happy enough that our plan if it was successful included giving a big chunk of shares to the PFA for their benevolent fund.

Things were to change dramatically in the following couple of years before the project finally opened its doors to the public at London County Hall in 1999 as the FA Premier League Hall of Fame. A rebrand for one thing as not long after opening the Premier League pulled away from the Football Association.

The awfully tragic death of Chelsea vice Chairman Matthew Harding had a huge impact. If Matthew had survived the crash the project would probably have continued as the British Football Hall of Fame. With the backing of our great friend Michel Zen-Ruffinen the then General Secretary of FIFA a collaborative partnership with the FIFA World football “Hall of Champions” was always the planned and preferred option.

So how did the project come to be known as the Premier League Hall of Fame?

Well it is certainly not a case of “much ado about nothing” as there were enough twists and turns to rival Birmingham Spaghetti Junction on a bad day!

I am in the process of writing all about it actually. Call this blog a teaser!

Plenty of juicy football stuff and also plenty of non football stuff like the day model Katy Price jumped into the Thames from an RAF Helicopter as part of our opening ceremony. How Liam Gallagher went missing so Noel had to be Manchester City’s super fan on his own. The day we spent almost our entire marketing budget to stage a media event at Crystal Palace training ground calling to “save Crystal Palace” is a good one. This was the kind of activity I had always dreamed of “HOF” being involved in for the greater good of the game! Lots, lots and lots more!!

Anyways – That’s your lot for now!

Oh “what is the header all about you were thinking? The night we staged a media event to herald the opening when then Minister for Sport the right honourable Chelsea fan Tony Banks MP stood outside in the rain to pull the longest red chord in history to declare it officially open – Tony had sworn never to step foot back in County Hall after the previous Tory Government sold the old GLA building to Japanese property developers and Hursty and I had to go to every length possible to get him there on the night and taking part without breaking his pledge! Richard Scudamore the out going Football League CEO about to move on the same role at Premier League couldn’t make the event due being in Lytham St Anne’s for the Football League AGM so he made a video to be played on the night alongside one from FIFA. Michel paid tribute to the effort both Hursty and I had put into the project while Richard (the scud) said that he had not hesitated to want to be involved due the incessant passion of the guy he called the “football evangelist”

Thanks for taking the time to read this blog

G

*Hursty – Sir Geoff Hurst MBE – They think its all over!

*Ossie/Os – Peter Osgood – The greatest footballer to ever play the game. RIP my forever hero