Since taking over as the CEO of Fulham FC in 2008, Alistair Mackintosh has garnered a string of accolades and plaudits.

In just his first season at the club, Alistair helped guide Fulham to a record finish in the Premier League (seventh), which also qualified the club for the following season’s UEFA Europa League. Not only did Fulham qualify for this tournament, but went on to finish runners up, after managing a 4-1 rout of Italian giants Juventus to snatch the two-leg...

The UK’s obsession with sport is clear for all to see. If it wasn’t obvious already, the 2012 Olympics certainly put it beyond doubt. Of course, the media has a huge part to play in this, and there are few more influential figures in this regard than Peter Salmon.

A Burnley native, Peter has played a key role in the evolution of Britain’s television industry over the past three decades. Having held various positions across the sector, he has built up all of the...

It’s fair to say that Rachel Brown-Finnis’ life in football didn’t get off to the smoothest of starts. Despite first getting involved in a boys’ team at primary-school age, The Football Association (FA) rules surrounding mixed-gender teams forced the Burnley-born goalkeeper to endure a couple of years away from the pitch before things could really get going. Eventually, however, she found her way to Accrington Ladies, making her first appearances for their youth team during her early-mid teenage years.

An early...

It’s hard to find a British athlete with more strings to their bow than Brendan Foster. A chemistry graduate, Olympic medallist, entrepreneur and MBE, Brendan is known as much for his soothing voice as he is for his sporting prowess.

Runaway success with driving ambition

From the poorly maintained track in Gateshead to the world stage at the Olympic Games, Brendan’s achievements are legendary. A record-breaking performance at the 1974 European Championships in Rome resulted in gold for the 5,000m. Back home and while training for more competitions, Brendan...

Seventeen years is a long time to have any job, but in football terms it’s an eternity. This is how long Jamie Carragher spent at his beloved Liverpool Football Club before retiring in 2013, so it’s easy to see why the Anfield faithful hold him so close to their hearts.

The defender has a few prizes to show for his time at the Merseyside club as well, having been victorious in a number of major tournament finals – one of which...

Julie Harrington joined The FA in March 2012 as Managing Director of St. George’s Park. She came to the team from her post as Operations Director at Northern Racing where she spent eight years. Now considered an esteemed figure within The FA, Julie has the impressive job of managing its multi-million pound complex and around 350 members of staff.

Although horse racing has dominated Julie’s career, football is her first love. In just a few years she has seen the successful launch of Burton’s branch of the national football centre for...

The beautiful game it may be, but sometimes a legal wrangle or issue can creep into the world of football. Thankfully, there are professional, qualified solicitors specialising in the game to call upon whenever this happens. One of the most prominent of these is Daniel Geey, a senior associate in Fieldfisher’s Competition and EU Regulatory Law Group.

Daniel has plenty of experience in football legality, covering everything from takeover issues to workers’ rights and competition law with regard to broadcasting. Other...

A leading light in Scottish football, Neil Doncaster joined the UCFB as an advisory board member in 2013. As Chief Executive of the Scottish Professional Football League, he certainly has a strong history with UK football.

A qualified solicitor, Neil’s career in football began when he joined Norwich City in 1997 as company secretary and solicitor. His enterprising streak showed through as he quickly moved up the ranks to Head of Operations, before taking up the role of Chief Executive in 2001.

Whilst at Norwich...

Hailing from a illustrious career in sports journalism, Niall Sloane has been at the forefront of British Sport broadcasting for almost 30 years. Working for the BBC for several decades, he now heads up ITV’s sports programming.

A passion for football began at an early age – Niall grew up in Northern Ireland and played for his local team Portadown where he was voted Young Footballer of the Year. Moving to England, he undertook a short stint with Sheffield Wednesday before deciding that the game of professional...

Peter Salmon, Director, England at the BBC, and Ian Haythornthwaite, Director of Finance at the BBC, gave an insightful guest lecture to UCFB Burnley students.