This week Eton had the pleasure of welcoming former Premier League Chairman, Richard Scudamore, to speak about all things football.
From an early age, Scudamore fell in love with the ‘beautiful game’. After going to his first Bristol City game aged seven, he was hooked.
Whilst following the game for years Scudamore began to explore the art of refereeing and earnt his badges aged 17, allowing him to officiate lower league games. With a smile, Scudamore explained that his father said, ‘Oh for goodness sake, why would you give up a proper job to work in football?’
After excelling in a business-orientated role for the Football League, the level below the Premier League, he earnt himself the highly coveted position of Chairman of the Premier League.
When asked by audience members about the ins and outs of his role, he stated that there was ‘lots of negotiating over broadcasting of the games’, and he believed the key to it all was ‘selling on an open and transparent basis’.
Scudamore raised the revenue of the Premier league from £140 million to £3.3 billion in the span of his twenty years in the role. When asked how he achieved such success in the role, he replied: ‘Just stay true to yourself’ and added a patriotic note to ‘keep calm and carry on!’
From interactions with football’s elite to transforming English football to the powerhouse it is today, Richard Scudamore has lived every football fan’s dream and Eton pupils and community members alike were grateful to have to the opportunity to learn more about his life.
