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Draft:Craig Brewin

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Craig Brewin
Craig Brewin at the FIFA World Cup semi-final in Turin, July 1990. England v West Germany
Born1959 (age 66–67)
Leicester, England[1]
Occupations
  • Public finance professional
  • Football supporters' campaigner
Known forChair of the Football Supporters' Association

Craig Brewin (born 1959) is a British football supporters' campaigner, public finance professional and policy analyst. He was active in the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) between 1985 and 2000, during which he served as chair from 1990 to 1992, national secretary, treasurer and chair of the London branch. During this period he was involved in campaigns following the Hillsborough disaster and on stadium safety, supporter rights, England fans abroad and the commercialisation of English football. He subsequently worked in public sector procurement and has been active in civil society work in Montserrat and Slough.

Early life and politics

[edit]

Brewin moved to London in 1981 to work for the Greater London Council.[2] Between 1986 and 1990 he served as a Labour councillor in the London Borough of Haringey.[3] A 1994 directory of British political organisations described him as a left-wing Labour councillor who had given interviews to Socialist Review and Labour Briefing.[4] He had also been interviewed in the Labour Party journal New Socialist in 1985 in connection with supporter organisations and football fanzines.[5]

The Football in London Action Group

[edit]

The Football Supporters' Association was formed in 1985 in the aftermath of the Heysel Stadium disaster and wider concern about hooliganism and stadium safety.[6] After Brewin joined, he began promoting the organisation in the national press. One article in January 1986 said “Brewin told me the FSA want to give supporters a voice, and they want representation".[7] In December 1986, he appeared on Channel 4's Comment programme, an early broadcast platform given to the organised supporter movement.[8]

The following year he helped establish the Football in London Action Group (FLAG) to coordinate campaigns by London-based fans on club mergers, ground sharing, and stadium redevelopment. In 1987 Charlton Athletic was already ground sharing at Crystal Palace[9] when plans to merge QPR and Fulham were revealed.[10] It was also reported that potential merger discussions had taken place between Crystal Palace and Wimbledon. Brewin was quoted in the Daily Express saying "it is important that fans of clubs affected by property speculators co-ordinate to maintain their football heritage".[11]

In 1988 he was able to obtain planning submissions that Tottenham Hotspur had made but never published, which replaced the standing terrace with executive boxes at White Hart Lane. He read them aloud to a "stunned" group of supporters.[12] Tottenham chairman Irving Scholar, who discussed the subsequent campaign in his autobiography Behind Closed Doors, expressed concern about Brewin's involvement, noting that he was a Leicester City supporter and suggesting the FSA was politically motivated. At a meeting with supporters attended by Scholar and team manager Terry Venables, Brewin argued that the plans provided better facilities for police horses than for supporters.[13]

As part of the FSA's campaign against the proposed national football identity card scheme, Brewin obtained a Luton Town membership card and appeared on Thames Television's Reporting London brandishing it to demonstrate the scheme's flaws. Luton Town had used the cards to ban away fans, and the club's chairman, Conservative MP David Evans, was a strong advocate for imposing a national scheme under the provisions of the Football Spectators Act.[14] Luton Town responded by issuing a press statement declaring him "blacklisted" on their membership register.[15] Proposals for a national ID card scheme were dropped after the Hillsborough disaster the following year.[16]

Hillsborough Disaster warnings and response

[edit]

By the late 1980s Brewin was serving as national secretary[17] of the FSA before becoming national chair prior to the 1990 FIFA World Cup.[18] Writing in the FSA's official history, academic and campaigner Rogan Taylor recorded that "the FSA, under great leadership from Craig Brewin who had chaired the London branch for years, went on to grow stronger and more deeply engaged with the running of the game".[19] Pete Davies's All Played Out, an account of Italia '90, records Glen Kirton of the Football Association describing Brewin as the FSA's "most political" figure.[20]

Two years before the Hillsborough disaster, the FSA presented the FA with a 36-page dossier of evidence concerning crowd management at the FA Cup final. Brewin warned that the event was in danger of becoming another Heysel-style disaster. He called for early inspection of tickets and better exchange of information between police and stadium officials, warning that "unless this happens there could be disastrous consequences".[21] Glen Kirton publicly dismissed the FSA's concerns as "nonsense," saying the stadium had been "inspected and licensed".[21]

Photographed and quoted in the Daily Star two days after the Hillsborough disaster, Brewin warned that there would be "more horror if things don't change" and called for safer, less restrictive crowd control measures.[22] Brewin subsequently spoke publicly on debates over stadium safety, perimeter fencing, and the implementation of the Taylor Report,[23] arguing that removing perimeter cages and changing attitudes to policing were vital to the safety of spectators.[24]

Establishing the first football embassies

[edit]

During the 1990 FIFA World Cup, Brewin personally underwrote the FSA's Football Embassy, established in Italy to provide information and assistance to travelling England supporters.[25] Looking back on the embassy's significance, he later said: "I wanted to present to the world a different view of the England football fan ... Maybe we were ahead of our time".[25] It later emerged in US court papers that Alan Teale, a former referee, gave £6,000 derived from fraudulently obtained funds to Craig Brewin to support the embassy. Brewin, who had accepted the donation in good faith, was not implicated in the fraud.[26]

Before the tournament Brewin was interviewed in the European press on proposed supporter identification and control measures. He argued that the decision to keep English clubs out of European competition in the 1989/90 season meant there had been no opportunity for a trial run of the approach.[27] He went on to criticise the policing of England fans in Sardinia, comparing the tactics used against supporters to those employed in South Africa.[28][29]

He subsequently criticised the mass deportation of England supporters from Rimini and raised civil liberties concerns about their treatment.[30] After the Italian authorities accepted the innocence of the deportees Brewin announced legal action against Sports Minister Colin Moynihan for defamation.[31] Moynihan had described them as "criminally motivated" and "football's effluent tendency". In October 1990 the UK government announced in parliament that police records held on those deported would be destroyed.[32]

The FSA ran another Embassy at the European Championship held in Sweden in 1992[33] and in the run up to the tournament there was another public dispute between Brewin and Glen Kirton, this time over ticketing. A month before the tournament Kirton blamed slow ticket sales on "disinformation put around by certain organisations that claim to represent supporters".[34] Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Brewin responded: "We've been pressing them to increase the number of tickets available to independent travellers and now they've done that".[35] The FSA and its successor bodies have run Embassies at all subsequent international tournaments[36] and the model has been followed across Europe.[37]

Creation of the Premier League and ticket prices

[edit]

During 1991 and 1992 Brewin led the FSA response to the Football Association's blueprint for a breakaway top division and the eventual formation of the Premier League. Describing the FA's Blueprint for Football as "arrogant and impertinent", he argued that its authors "clearly do not understand the game they seek to control".[38][39] FSA concerns centred on the concentration of wealth among elite clubs and the damage to lower‑division sides,[40] but Brewin also opposed a proposal in the Blueprint that the FA establish its own supporters' organisation. He argued that the proposal was based on the success of the FSA, but that this success was due to its independence, saying: "The Blueprint proposes giving a grant to the League's Executive Staff Association so why not us?"[41]

When the FA subsequently established “englandfans” as an England team‑focused body,[42][43] Brewin joined and participated in its discussions with the FA and England supporters.[44]

When the FA agreed a record television contract with BSkyB in 1992, Brewin criticised the "obscene"[45] amounts of money clubs would earn from the deal and questioned its effect on ticket prices[46] and on the subscription‑free broadcasting of live games.[47] Brewin was a figure in the Sunday Mirror's "Fair Play for Fans" campaign in June 1992, which argued that Premier League clubs were exploiting supporters by raising ticket prices despite receiving substantial Football Trust money for ground improvements. He argued that "the big clubs are putting up the prices simply because they know they can get away with it".[48][49] The following year he criticised the rescheduling of matches to suit satellite television, arguing that BSkyB was treating supporters as an afterthought.[50]

Brewin was involved in campaigns for the retention of safe standing areas following the Taylor Report. In March 1992 the FSA submitted its own report on standing areas to the government, arguing that they could be designed to be safe.[51] "Seating is not a short‑cut to safety", said Brewin.[52] In June 1992 he welcomed a partial government retreat on all‑seater requirements for smaller clubs, claiming they had "won the argument" about the principle. Simon Hart's World in Motion records him lamenting that modern stadium design, particularly the new Wembley Stadium, had replaced genuine supporter culture with what he described as the "continuous muttering of conversation".[53]

The Football Task Force

[edit]

Brewin left the FSA in 1993 to focus on raising a young family[54] but returned in 1998 and held the position of treasurer for two years.[55] He participated in the Football Task Force established by the incoming Labour government in 1997, headed by the former Conservative Secretary of State David Mellor.[56] In autumn 1999 Brewin presented a proposal for an audit commission for football at the Task Force, drawing on his local government finance expertise.[57]

The Task Force led to the creation of Supporters Direct in 2000, a government-backed initiative designed to promote supporter ownership through the creation of supporter trusts. After his appointment as the organisation's chair in 2002, Andy Burnham, the former administrator of the Task Force,[58] said that "fans are no longer just fodder and it is vital that they be included in discussions".[59] Under pressure from the Task Force,[60] the FSA merged with the National Federation of Football Supporters' Clubs in 2002 to form the Football Supporters' Federation.[61] Speaking in 2017, Brewin said, "I wouldn't say we were becoming part of the establishment, but there was a direction of travel".[62]

The Federation merged with Supporters Direct in 2018,[63] to create a new organisation, also called the Football Supporters' Association, which claims direct and affiliate membership of over 500,000 supporters.[64]

Later career and advocacy

[edit]

After leaving the FSA, Brewin pursued his career in local government finance, commissioning and procurement, working successively at the London Borough of Lambeth, the London Borough of Haringey, and the London Borough of Havering, where he was appointed head of business strategy in 2000.[65] He later served as Head of Commissioning at Slough Borough Council, and as a member of the Local Government Association peer challenge team.[66] He was subsequently shortlisted for Public Finance Leader of the Year at the 2018 Public Finance Awards.[67] He is a fellow of the Chartered Institute of Procurement & Supply and holds an LLM in Procurement Law and Policy.[68]

Following his relocation to Montserrat he worked for the Montserrat Red Cross and wrote regularly on disaster mitigation and recovery in the Caribbean, including a multi‑part series on procurement in disaster situations for Public Spend Forum.[69] He also became a member of the Board of Montserrat's Children's Society[70] and became active in disability rights advocacy through the Montserrat Association for Persons with Disabilities.[71] Brewin has described Montserrat as "the only place in the entire English-speaking world with no protection for persons with disabilities".[72]

He has presented at the Harkin International Disability Employment Summit[73] and the University of the West Indies' Regional Disability Studies Conference.[74] Alongside his work in Montserrat, he served as Head of Research for Friends of the British Overseas Territories (FOTBOT)[75], writing on subjects relating to the British Overseas Territories, including citizenship rights[76], child sexual exploitation[77], disability rights[78], same-sex partnerships[79], the European Convention on Human Rights[80], the Chagos Islands[81], and climate change[82]. In the UK he serves as a director of Slough Council for Voluntary Service.[83]

Writing and media

[edit]

Brewin has appeared in documentary and television programmes including Britain in a Day, News at Ten and Italia 90: When Football Changed Forever[84]. His ITN appearances covered ticket prices, the impact of the Premier League, and the all-seater stadia debate.[85] He is a regular contributor to ZJB Radio Montserrat[86] and Discover Montserrat on international development, human rights and the Montserrat national football team.[87] His writing on tourism in Montserrat has been cited in academic writing on Montserrat's musical heritage.[88] His writing on disability rights and governance in Montserrat has been cited as a source in official Government of Montserrat policy documents, including the Montserrat National Population Policy.[89]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Leicester Daily Mercury, 15 September 1959.
  2. ^ Turner, Mark. The Safe Standing Movement in Football: Fan Networks, Tactics, and Mobilisations. Taylor & Francis, 2023, p. 44.
  3. ^ "London Borough Council Elections 1986" (PDF). London Datastore. p. 34. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  4. ^ Mercer, Paul. Directory of British Political Organisations. Longman Current Affairs, 1994, ISBN 0-582-23729-7, p. 139.
  5. ^ New Socialist, published by the Labour Party, issues 9–22, 1983–1985.
  6. ^ Taylor, Rogan (19 December 2014). "The birth of the FSA (part 1 – Heysel and the early FSA)". Football Supporters' Association. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  7. ^ "Supporters in for a Shout". Daily Express. 31 January 1986. p. 41.
  8. ^ Daily Record, 16 December 1986 (TV listings).
  9. ^ "OTD (1985): Charlton head for Selhurst Park ground share". Crystal Palace F.C. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  10. ^ "Flag Flying for QPR". Chelsea News and General Advertiser. London. 12 March 1987..
  11. ^ Hardy, Martin (26 February 1987). "Battle to Save Fulham". Daily Express. p. Back page.
  12. ^ Cloake, Martin, and Fisher, Alan. A People's History of Tottenham Hotspur. Pitch Publishing, 2016.
  13. ^ Scholar, Irving. Behind Closed Doors. André Deutsch, 1992, pp. 229–230.
  14. ^ "Football Spectators Bill [Lords]". UK Parliament. 27 June 1989. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  15. ^ "Fans Blacklisted". Luton News and Bedfordshire Chronicle. 19 January 1989. p. 43.
  16. ^ "National ID cards proposed for football fans". Information Commissioner's Office. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  17. ^ "True fans prepare to act over hooligans". Coventry Evening Telegraph. 24 August 1988. p. 30.
  18. ^ Turner, pp. 44, 52, 54.
  19. ^ Taylor, Rogan (13 November 2019). "The birth of the FSA (part 2 – ID cards, Hillsborough and beyond)". Football Supporters' Association. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  20. ^ Davies, Pete. All Played Out: The Full Story of Italia '90. Yellow Jersey Press, 1998, ISBN 9780224059541, p. 192.
  21. ^ a b "Wembley Horror". Daily Star. 11 April 1987. p. 32.
  22. ^ "When Will They Ever Learn?". Daily Star. 18 April 1989. p. 26. Brewin photographed and quoted; name misspelled in caption as "Bruin".
  23. ^ Peeks, Simon (22 August 1992). "Price of loyalty". Nottingham Evening Post. p. 9.
  24. ^ Sutton, Jeff (8 November 1990). "Soccer cages shame". Daily Mirror. p. 25.
  25. ^ a b Hart, Simon. World in Motion: The Inside Story of Italia '90. deCoubertin Books, 2018.
  26. ^ "Brit Couple Busted in $500m Con". Daily Star. 18 January 1993. p. 7.
  27. ^ Europ, published by Journalists in Europe, issues 56–63, 1990.
  28. ^ "The Battle of Cagliari". Manchester Evening News. 18 June 1990. p. 6.
  29. ^ "Thugs Threat to Villa's Euro Hopes". Birmingham Mail. 18 June 1990. p. 2.
  30. ^ "England fans deported". West Lancashire Evening Gazette. 25 July 1990. p. 2.
  31. ^ "England fans deported". The Scotsman. 7 August 1990. p. 2.
  32. ^ "World Cup (Deportations)". UK Parliament. 15 October 1990. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  33. ^ "Sitting targets". When Saturday Comes. When Saturday Comes Limited. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  34. ^ "Ticket Row Flares Up". Manchester Evening News. 6 May 1992. p. 55.
  35. ^ "FA in Euro Ticket Clash". Burton Daily Mail. 6 May 1992. p. (back page).
  36. ^ "History of Fans' Embassies". Fans' Embassies by Football Supporters Europe. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  37. ^ "About Us". Football Supporters International. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  38. ^ "Top clubs to net £112m in breakaway". Wolverhampton Express and Star. 19 June 1991. p. 32.
  39. ^ "Taylor hits out at Super plan". Leicester Daily Mercury. 19 June 1991. p. 43.
  40. ^ Turner, p.52.
  41. ^ "Fans blast arrogant FA". Lancashire Evening Post. 19 June 1991. p. Back page.
  42. ^ "A history of England's travelling support". When Saturday Comes. 28 June 2016. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  43. ^ "FA defends loyalty programme after England fans criticise the scheme". Sky Sports. 8 September 2014. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  44. ^ Perryman, Mark. Hooligan Wars: Causes and Effects of Football Violence. Random House, 2002, p. 8.
  45. ^ Ball, Peter. "BBC and BSkyB win Premier League deal". The Times, 19 May 1992, p. 34.
  46. ^ Curry, Steve; Greaves, Gerard (19 May 1992). "Sky-high £340m scoops TV soccer". Daily Express. p. 2.
  47. ^ Business Review Weekly, volume 14, issues 16–24, University of California, 1992, p.24.
  48. ^ "Fair Play for Fans". Sunday Mirror. 7 June 1992. p. 36.
  49. ^ "Fair Play for Fans". Sunday Mirror. 14 June 1992. p. 40.
  50. ^ "Don't Pay These Crazy High Prices". Daily Star. 16 March 1993. p. 31.
  51. ^ "Stadium seating is not a short-cut to safety". Shields Daily Gazette. 11 March 1992.
  52. ^ "Fans fight all-seaters". South Wales Echo. 11 March 1992.
  53. ^ Hart, Simon. World in Motion: The Inside Story of Italia '90. deCoubertin Books, 2018.
  54. ^ Turner, p. 54.
  55. ^ Turner, p. 75.
  56. ^ "Craig Brewin, National Officer for the Football Supporters Association, David Mellor, head of the Football Task Force". Getty Images. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  57. ^ "A task of two halves". Independent Labour Publications. 4 September 2006. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  58. ^ "Burnham gets to grips with the game – but will it make a difference?". The Guardian. 11 September 2008. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  59. ^ "Fans Are Not Fodder!". The Fishy. Retrieved 15 June 2026.
  60. ^ Brown, Adam (13 December 2005). "The past imperfect". When Saturday Comes. When Saturday Comes Limited. Retrieved 16 June 2026.
  61. ^ "A new national fans' organisation?". The Dons Trust. Wimbledon Football Club Supporters’ Society Ltd. 31 October 2017. Retrieved 14 June 2026.
  62. ^ Turner, p. 75.
  63. ^ "Supporters Direct to merge with the Football Supporters Federation". Co-operative News. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  64. ^ "Affiliate, associate and allied". Football Supporters' Association. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  65. ^ "Appointment at London Borough of Havering". Accountancy Age. 10 October 2000. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  66. ^ "Leicester City Council Commissioning for Better Outcomes Peer Challenge Report" (PDF). Local Government Association. December 2016. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  67. ^ "Winners 2018". Public Finance Awards. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  68. ^ "Montserrat Moves Towards Comprehensive Procurement Reform". Discover Montserrat. 27 August 2025. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  69. ^ "Disaster and Emergency Part 6: Lessons for the Procurement Profession". Public Spend Forum. 25 July 2018. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  70. ^ "New Board for Montserrat Children's Society". Discover Montserrat. 9 June 2021. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  71. ^ "Montserrat Lauded for Advancing Rights of Persons with Disabilities". ZJB Radio. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  72. ^ TeamDiscover (14 March 2022). "MAPD Commits to Stepping Up Campaign for Inclusivity on Montserrat". Discover Montserrat. Retrieved 13 June 2026.
  73. ^ "Montserrat Association: Human Rights, Disability and the British Overseas Territories". Harkin Institute. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  74. ^ "Regional Disability Studies Conference – Day 1". University of the West Indies. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  75. ^ "Global Britain: In this coronation year, Britain still retains an overseas realm that spans the globe". Gafencu. Gafencu Magazine. Retrieved 29 June 2026.
  76. ^ "British citizenship: Hong Kongers and the children of unmarried British fathers". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  77. ^ "Tackling child sexual exploitation in the Overseas Territories". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  78. ^ "Overseas Territories celebrate International Day for Persons with Disabilities". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  79. ^ "The Cayman Islands domestic partnership bill: implications for the Overseas Territories". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  80. ^ "The Overseas Territories and the European Convention on Human Rights". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  81. ^ "House of Lords supports British citizenship for the descendants of displaced Chagossians". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  82. ^ "Climate Change: The Overseas Territories at COP26". Friends of the British Overseas Territories. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  83. ^ "Craig Brewin personal appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  84. ^ "Italia 90: Four Weeks That Changed the World - Full Cast & Crew". TV Guide. Retrieved 2 August 2026.
  85. ^ "Craig Brewin – ITN Archive". Getty Images/ITN. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  86. ^ "Craig Brewin". ZJB Radio Montserrat via SoundCloud. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  87. ^ "Craig Brewin Archives". Discover Montserrat. Retrieved 10 June 2026.
  88. ^ Barnard, Hans (ed.). Archaeology Outside the Box. Cotsen Institute of Archaeology Press, 2023, Chapter 19 (Ryzewski and Cherry), p. 185.
  89. ^ "Montserrat National Population Policy 2024" (PDF). Government of Montserrat. 2024. Retrieved 10 June 2026.


Category:Living people Category:1959 births Category:Labour Party (UK) councillors Category:People from Slough Category:British bloggers Category:Politics of Montserrat Category:Politics and sports Category:Association football supporters

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