England Footballing legend Tony Adams opens new state-of-the-art facilities at Brunel University

Adams, who is the only English footballer to captain his club, Arsenal, to the League Championship in three different decades as well as captaining his country 15 times, recently studied Sport Sciences at Brunel University.

 

He suspended his course to take up his current managerial position Wycombe Wanderers FC, but he stressed that his positive attitude towards education - he once said studying for the degree wasn’t a choice, but a necessity - remained undimmed.

 

“Education is clearly important in an industry where the average professional career lasts just six years,” said Mr Adams. “Unfortunately, it seems that football and education don’t mix. The vital years in the development of a young player are 14-18 years old, but that’s when they are expected to take exams.”

 

Yet, Mr Adams is clearly proud of the educational achievements of the young players at his club. “I encourage education at Wycombe,” he added. “We have one player who is doing well in his A-levels, especially in maths”. When asked if he would advise his young players to study at Brunel University, Tony was unequivocal in his praise for his former haunt. “Absolutely. The facilities are fantastic and the atmosphere is very professional. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Brunel.”

 

Mr Adams was also impressed with the new third generation all-weather football pitches. “I wish we had some of these at Wycombe, in fact I might well have a chat with the contractors today,” he quipped.

 

He remembered playing on the old-style soccer grounds. “I would get an astro-turf graze in September and it would last all season. There’s no danger of that on these pitches.”

 

Lord Pendry, President of the Football foundation presented Brunel Vice Chancellor Prof. Steven Schwartz with a cheque for £600, 000, towards the cost of the development, in Kingston Lane, Uxbridge. Prof. Schwartz explained that the football facilities were part of one phase of a £13million plan. The opening was a big step towards “making Brunel not just part of the Hillingdon community, but the heart of the Hillingdon community,” he said.

 

Mr Adams also presented trophies to the winners of a girls’ and boys’ knock-out contest held on the new turf, as part of the launch ceremony. He presented the winner’s plate for the boys to Queens Park Rangers Juniors, and the girls’ trophy to Denham United A Ladies.