Gareth Southgate Obe

Gareth Southgate OBE has transitioned from a distinguished football player to a highly respected manager and national ambassador, leading the England national team to multiple significant tournament appearances. After leading Crystal Palace to the 1993–94 First Division championship as club captain, Gareth Southgate OBE established a distinguished career as a professional footballer. Making his professional debut for Crystal Palace in 1990, he quickly became a consistent performer before transferring to Aston Villa in 1995 for £2.5 million. At Aston Villa, he secured the League Cup in the 1995–96 season and reached the FA Cup final in 2000.

He resigned as England manager in 2024. Beyond his celebrated playing and managerial career, Southgate was awarded an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2019 for services to football, and is set to be appointed Knight Bachelor in the 2025 New Year Honours. He co-authored the critically acclaimed ‘Woody & Nord: A Football Friendship’ (2003), which won the Sports Book of the Year award, and ‘Anything Is Possible: Be Brave, Be Kind & Follow Your Dreams’ (2020). Recognized for his contributions, he received the BBC Sports Personality of the Year Coach Award in both 2018 and 2021, the FWA Tribute Award in 2019, and the PFA Merit Award in 2025.

Southgate has also served as a football pundit for ITV Sport, held a role as the FA’s head of elite development, and is an ambassador for The Prince’s Trust and a patron of Help for Heroes. Post-England management, he is a visiting lecturer at Harvard Business School.