Vic Akers
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Victor David Akers, OBE (born 24 August 1946) is a football manager and former player who was most recently the assistant manager at
Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
. Akers played as a left back. He was also manager of
Arsenal Ladies Arsenal Women Football Club, commonly referred to as Arsenal, is an English professional women's football club based in Islington, London, England. The club plays in the Women's Super League, the top tier of English women's football. Arse ...
winning numerous trophies with the team. In 1996 Akers became Arsenal's kit manager, a position he left subsequent to the departure of Arsène Wenger in 2018. Vic Akers is the most successful Arsenal Ladies manager of all time winning numerous trophies (36 in total) from 1993 to 2009.


Playing career

Born in Islington, London, Akers started his career in the youth set-up with
Fulham Fulham () is an area of the London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham in West London, England, southwest of Charing Cross. It lies on the north bank of the River Thames, bordering Hammersmith, Kensington and Chelsea. The area faces Wandsworth ...
but did not sign a professional contract with the club., pp 21 He moved into non-league football with Tonbridge Angels (where his consistency at left-back meant that
Malcolm Macdonald Malcolm Ian Macdonald (born 7 January 1950) is an English former professional footballer, manager and media figure. Nicknamed 'Supermac', Macdonald was a quick, powerfully built prolific goalscorer. He played for Fulham, Luton Town, Newcastle ...
was forced to play as a left-footed right back, before converting to striker when he joined Luton Town.), before signing for Bexley United in May 1969. In July 1971 he signed for
Cambridge United Cambridge United Football Club is a professional association football club based in the city of Cambridge, England. They compete in EFL League one , the 3rd tier of the English football league system. The club is based at the Abbey Stadium on Ne ...
for £5000, and was part of the side that claimed the club's first promotion season in 1973, from the old Fourth Division. He made 129 league appearances for Cambridge before joining
Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, a ...
in July 1975 for a fee thought to be either £1000 or £2000. He was an ever-present for the first half of the club's first season back in the Fourth Division after relegation, making 22 league appearances as well as a further 4 in cup competitions. In July 1976 he joined Dartford for free, helping them win the Southern League Cup of 1977. He went on to play for Hayes in 1978, and by October 1980 had joined
Slough Town Slough Town Football Club is a semi-professional English football club based in Slough, Berkshire. Nicknamed "The Rebels", the team competes in the National League South, at the sixth tier of English football, following promotion from the Sou ...
winning a treble of
Isthmian League Premier Division The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...
, Berks and Bucks Senior Cup and the
Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...
of 1981. By March 1984 he was playing for Carshalton Athletic where he spent two years at and away from Colston Avenue. Akers then joined Arsenal as the head of the club's community section.


Managerial career

Akers was appointed head of Arsenal's community section in 1986 and in 1987 founded the Arsenal Ladies team. He managed Arsenal Ladies to every major trophy in English women's football winning the
FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...
eleven times, the
FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup includ ...
ten times and the FA Women's Premier League eleven times. Akers, in so doing, attained five League and FA Women's Cup Doubles and four domestic Trebles. Akers also won the
UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. T ...
with Arsenal in 2007, being the first English side to do so. He retired in 2009 from the Arsenal Ladies post having won thirty-two major trophies in total. Akers was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the 2010 New Year Honours. In May 2018, Akers retired as Arsenal's kit manager and was succeeded by his son, Paul. In February 2019, Akers joined
Boreham Wood Borehamwood (, historically also Boreham Wood) is a town in southern Hertfordshire, England, from Charing Cross. Borehamwood has a population of 31,074, and is within the London commuter belt. The town's film and TV studios are commonly known ...
as Assistant Manager. He left the role in August 2020.


Honours


Playing career

Cambridge United * Football League Fourth Division, promoted (in 3rd place) to Third Division: 1973 Dartford * Southern League Cup: 1977 Slough Town *
Isthmian League Premier Division The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 teams ...
: 1981 *
Isthmian League Cup The Alan Turvey Trophy, formerly the Isthmian League Cup is a football knock-out cup competition organised by the Isthmian League in England. History Isthmian League Chairman and President Alan Turvey was among the FA's "150 Grassroots Heroes" ...
: 1981 *Berks and Bucks Senior Cup:1981


Managerial career

Arsenal Ladies *
UEFA Women's Cup The UEFA Women's Champions League, previously called the UEFA Women's Cup (2001–2009), is a European women's association football competition. It involves the top club teams from countries affiliated with the European governing body UEFA. T ...
: 2006–07 * FA Women's Premier League: 1992–93, 1994–95, 1996–97, 2000–01, 2001–02, 2003–04, 2004–05, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08, 2008–09 *
FA Women's Cup The Women's FA Challenge Cup Competition is the top annual cup tournament for women's clubs in English football. Founded in 1970, it has been named the WFA Cup, FA Women's Cup and now Women's FA Cup (Vitality Women's FA Cup for sponsorship reas ...
: 1992–93, 1994–95, 1997–98, 1998–99, 2000–01, 2003–04, 2005–06, 2006–07, 2007–08 *
FA Women's Premier League Cup The Women's National League Cup is an annual English football cup competition, founded in 1991 by the Women's Football Association (WFA). It was renamed the FA Women's Premier League Cup from 1994 to 2018. The first edition of the Cup includ ...
: 1991–92, 1992–93, 1993–94, 1997–98, 1998–99, 1999–2000, 2000–01, 2004–05, 2006–07, 2008–09 *
FA Women's Community Shield The Women's FA Community Shield is an association football match in England. It is a national super cup, and the equivalent of the FA Community Shield in male football. It is the first competitive match of the football season. The match is comp ...
: 2000, 2001, 2004, 2006, 2008


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Akers, Vic 1946 births Living people Footballers from Islington (district) English footballers Association football fullbacks Tonbridge Angels F.C. players Bexley United F.C. players Cambridge United F.C. players Watford F.C. players Dartford F.C. players Hayes F.C. players Slough Town F.C. players Carshalton Athletic F.C. players English Football League players English football managers Arsenal W.F.C. managers Arsenal F.C. non-playing staff Officers of the Order of the British Empire