The Rotary Club of Wellington’s 2014 programme was kicked off when the club was addressed by Brendon Batson MBE.
Brendon is a special adviser to the Football Association and Trustee of the Professional Footballers’ Association. Born in Grenada, he moved to England with his family aged nine. After an unlikely start (having never kicked a ball before his move from the Caribbean), Brendon went on to became a pioneer for black footballers in England playing for Arsenal, Cambridge United and West Bromwich Albion.
An excellent and informative speaker he outlined his career in football while relating this to the changes in attitude to black players during this time. His current project is managing the COACH bursary programme for The FA which addresses under-representation at higher levels of the coaching profession and promotes coaching as a career for the Black, Asian and the Minority Ethnic community. He received the MBE in 2001 for services to football.
Potential Rotarians were invited to join us for this event as were members of other local Rotary Clubs.