Edward Maurice Watkins

CBE The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

(30 November 1941 – 16 August 2021) was a British

solicitor A solicitor is a legal practitioner who traditionally deals with most of the legal matters in some jurisdictions. A person must have legally-defined qualifications, which vary from one jurisdiction to another, to be described as a solicitor and ...

and

sports administrator Sport management is the field of business dealing with sports and recreation. Sports management involves any combination of skills that correspond with planning, organizing, directing, controlling, budgeting, leading, or evaluating of any organiz ...

best known as being a long-time director and the club solicitor of

Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of City of Salford, Salford to ...

. He had represented high-profile clients in criminal trials including

Eric Cantona Eric Daniel Pierre Cantona (; ; born 24 May 1966) is a French actor, director, producer, and former professional footballer. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of his generation, Cantona is credited as having made Manchester United a d ...

and Stuart Hall. After leaving Manchester United, he served in multiple other sports administration roles including as chairman of

British Swimming British Swimming is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Great Britain.

, overseeing the team's successful

Rio 2016 The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

and

Tokyo 2020 The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

Olympic Olympic or Olympics may refer to Sports Competitions * Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896 ** Summer Olympic Games ** Winter Olympic Games * Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...

cycles. He was joint senior partner of Brabners LLP solicitors in Manchester.

Personal life

Watkins was educated at

Manchester Grammar School The Manchester Grammar School (MGS) in Manchester, England, is the largest independent school (UK), independent day school for boys in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1515 as a Grammar school#free tuition, free grammar school next to Manchester C ...

and

University College London , mottoeng = Let all come who by merit deserve the most reward , established = , type = Public research university , endowment = £143 million (2020) , budget = ...

. Watkins died on 16 August 2021, at the age of 79, after suffering from

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is cancer of the prostate. Prostate cancer is the second most common cancerous tumor worldwide and is the fifth leading cause of cancer-related mortality among men. The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system that sur ...

High profile legal work

At a January 1995 match with Crystal Palace

performed a 'kung fu' kick into the crowd following abuse from Matthew Simmons. Watkins represented Cantona at the ensuing assault trial. Watkins was solicitor for former

BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board ex ...

broadcaster Stuart Hall at Hall's trial for indecent assault, at which Hall admitted to indecently assaulting 13 girls.

Positions

* Director of the British Association for Sport and Law (Former President & Chairman) * Member of the FA

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

Legal Advisory Group * FA

representative on the Association of European Union Premier Professional Leagues (EPFL) * Member of working group for financial matters of the

FIFA FIFA (; stands for ''Fédération Internationale de Football Association'' ( French), meaning International Association Football Federation ) is the international governing body of association football, beach football and futsal. It was found ...

Task Force "For the Good of the Game" * Interim chairman and non-executive director of the

Rugby Football League The Rugby Football League is the governing body for professional rugby league in England, and until 1995 for the whole British Isles. The name Rugby Football League previously also referred to the main league competition run by the organisati ...

* Chairman of

European Rugby League The European Rugby League (ERL) is the umbrella body for nations playing the sport of rugby league football across Europe. In the absence of other continental federations, ERL also controls rugby league in North America (including Central America ...

* Regional chairman for

Coutts Bank Coutts & Co. is a London-headquartered private bank and wealth manager. Founded in 1692, it is the eighth oldest bank in the world. Today, Coutts forms part of NatWest Group's wealth management division. In the Channel Islands and the Isle of ...

* Trustee of the Professional Footballers Pension Scheme * Chairman of Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust Charity * Chair of governors at the Manchester Grammar School * Chairman of the Greyhound Board of Great Britain * Chairman of

Barnsley Football Club Barnsley Football Club is a professional football club based in Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England, which compete in . Nicknamed "the Tykes", they were founded in 1887 by Reverend Tiverton Preedy and moved into Oakwell stadium the following ...

(2013–2017) * Chairman of

British Swimming British Swimming is the national governing body of swimming, water polo, synchronised swimming, diving and open water in Great Britain.

* Chairman of the

British Basketball Federation The British Basketball Federation, known as British Basketball, is the national sports governing body for basketball in Great Britain. It organises Great Britain teams for men and women in international competition. Northern Irish players norma ...

Career in football

Martin Edwards Charles Martin Edwards (born 24 July 1945) is the former chairman of Manchester United, a position he held from 1980 until 2002. He now holds the position of honorary life president at the club and Director of Inview Technology Ltd. Biography ...

asked Watkins to become a director of Manchester United Football Club in May 1984 on the same day as

Bobby Charlton Sir Robert Charlton (born 11 October 1937) is an English former footballer who played either as a midfielder or a forward. Considered one of the greatest players of all time, he was a member of the England team that won the 1966 FIFA World Cu ...

. In 1991, when Martin Edwards floated Manchester United on the stock exchange, Watkins joined the PLC Board as a non-executive director. Edwards and Watkins were the only two directors who served both on the Football Board and the PLC Board. At the AGM in 2005

Malcolm Glazer Malcolm Irving Glazer (August 15, 1928 – May 28, 2014) was an American businessman and sports team owner. He was the president and chief executive officer of First Allied Corporation, a holding company for his varied business interests, a ...

opposed Watkins's re-election to the PLC board along with two other directors

Philip Yea Philip Edward Yea (born 11 December 1954) is a British businessman and private equity investor, and the chairman of Equiniti and Mondi plc. He is a non-executive director of Aberdeen Standard Asia Focus plc and Marshall of Cambridge (Holdings) L ...

a fellow non-executive director and Andy Anson. After Malcolm Glazer had completed his takeover of Manchester United he de-listed it from the stock exchange and made it a private company once again. Watkins remained on the club's football board and was the club's solicitor. Watkins oversaw numerous high-profile

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kicking a ball to score a goal. Unqualified, the word ''football'' normally means the form of football that is the most popular where the word is used. Sports commonly c ...

transfers both at home in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

and abroad. He has also represented clubs and players before

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

the Football Association The Football Association (also known as The FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the ...

, the

and

the Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, the league is the oldest such competition in the world. It was the top-level football league in Engla ...

disciplinary bodies. Also he represented players and clubs at the

Court of Arbitration for Sport The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS; french: Tribunal arbitral du sport, ''TAS'') is an international body established in 1984 to settle disputes related to sport through arbitration. Its headquarters are in Lausanne, Switzerland and its co ...

and international and league compensation tribunals. He worked with the

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

and

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

Premier leagues in respect of broadcasting and regulatory matters as well as the Egyptian Sports Council and UAE footballing authorities. Watkins regularly spoke on football and sports law issues within the United Kingdom and internationally. He represented both

and the

at conferences in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it sh ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

Trinidad and Tobago Trinidad and Tobago (, ), officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, is the southernmost island country in the Caribbean. Consisting of the main islands Trinidad and Tobago, and numerous much smaller islands, it is situated south of ...

and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

. In 2012 Watkins was named interim

Chairman after the departure of

Richard Lewis Richard, Rich, Richie, Rick, Ricky or Dick Lewis may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Richard Field Lewis Jr. (1907–1957), American radio network owner * Dick "Rocko" Lewis (Richard Henry Lewis III, 1908–1966), American entertainer * Rich ...

. On 29 June 2012, Watkins stepped down from the board of Manchester United Football Club Ltd after 28 years with the club. On 30 May 2013, it was announced that Watkins would become chairman of Championship football club

Barnsley Barnsley () is a market town in South Yorkshire, England. As the main settlement of the Metropolitan Borough of Barnsley and the fourth largest settlement in South Yorkshire. In Barnsley, the population was 96,888 while the wider Borough has ...

. On 31 August 2017, Barnsley announced that Watkins was leaving the club's board of directors and his role as chairman.

Charitable support

Watkins was involved with several causes. Previous roles have included Chairman of the New Children's Hospital Appeal. With his leadership the appeal successfully raised £20 million to provide beds for parents on wards and additional and up-to-date equipment at the new state-of-the-art

Royal Manchester Children's Hospital The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is a children's hospital in Oxford Road, Manchester, England. The Royal Manchester Children's Hospital is managed by the Manchester University NHS Foundation Trust. History A new hospital was required to ...

References

External links

Brabners LLP Solicitors
{{DEFAULTSORT:Watkins, Maurice 1941 births 2021 deaths Alumni of University College London Manchester United F.C. directors and chairmen English solicitors Sports law Association football law Place of birth missing British rugby league administrators Deaths from prostate cancer