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Graham Daniels

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Daniels presenting at Cambridge United

Graham Daniels
Personal information
Full name David Graham Daniels
Date of birth (1962-04-09) 9 April 1962 (age 62)
Place of birth Farnborough, England
Position(s) Left midfield
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1979–1982 Cardiff City
1983–1985 Cambridge United
1985–1990 Cambridge City
Managerial career
1990-1994 Sudbury Town
1994-1996 Histon
1996-1999 Cambridge City
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Dr Graham Daniels is a former professional footballer, now the General Director of Christians in Sport.[1] and a director of Cambridge United Football Club.

He also holds associate positions at St Andrew the Great Church [2] and Ridley Hall Theological College [3] in Cambridge.

Early life

[edit]

Daniels grew up in Llanelli, South Wales, and attended Llanelli Boys' Grammar School, where he played rugby and cricket. He was signed by Cardiff City when playing for Wales Schools under 18s.

Playing career

[edit]

Daniels joined Cardiff City as a schoolboy, then continued playing for the youth and reserve teams alongside studying philosophy at Cardiff University from 1980 to 1983.

After graduating, Daniels rejected contract offers from Cardiff and Bristol Rovers to sign for Cambridge United. During two seasons at the Abbey Stadium, Daniels' team-mates included David Moyes, Andy Sinton and Alan Comfort.[4][5]

He left United in 1985 to join neighbours Cambridge City, and stayed with the Lilywhites until 1991.

Managerial roles

[edit]

At the age of 29, Daniels took up the role of player-coach at Sudbury Town in the Southern League. He became the manager of Histon in the Eastern Counties League in 1994, before returning to manage Cambridge City in 1996, where he remained for three seasons.

After leaving City,[6] Daniels joined Cambridgeshire FA in 2000 as head youth coach and was involved in helping manage local league teams until 2012. He was a member of the Cambridgeshire FA Council between 2013 and 2018.

Football Director

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Daniels returned to Cambridge United to inaugurate and chair the Cambridge United Community Trust in 2010. The Trust has had a significant impact on the city[7][8] and has earned recognition at local[9] and national level,[10] in particular in relation to mental health issues.[11]

Daniels joined the club's main board in September 2013. When Paul Barry purchased the club, he seconded Daniels to become Director of Football from 2017 to 2020.[12] Daniels helped guide the club through a turbulent time on and off the pitch,[13] and worked alongside Ben Strang, who was appointed Head of Football, to develop a long-term leadership and management strategy.

During this period, Cambridge United went through a rebuilding phase, strengthening its board and building a structure on the playing side which led to Mark Bonner becoming head coach in 2020. At that point, Strang was promoted to Sporting Director and Daniels stepped back from the Director of Football role[14] to return to his previous, non-executive role on the board[15] as the U's went on to win promotion to League One in 2021.[16]

When Cambridge United created a women's team board in 2022, Daniels became an inaugural member[17]

Christians in Sport

[edit]

Daniels became a Christian during his playing career at Cambridge United[18] and moved to Cambridge City in order to combine his football career with theological studies at the University of London and Tyndale House (Cambridge) between 1985 and 1989.

On completing his training for Christian ministry, Daniels joined the staff of Christians in Sport in 1989 and was appointed General Director in April 2002.

In light of his experience in combining the Christian faith with professional football, Daniels has published two popular books explaining the relationship between Christianity and Sport - Born to Play[19] and My Mate's Gone Mad.[20]

The growing cultural interest in mental health led Daniels to explore the relationship between Christian faith and athletic well-being. In 2020 he published a joint paper on 'Sports Chaplaincy, Theology and Social Theory Disrupting Performance-Based Identity in Elite Sporting Contexts'. Daniels gained a PhD for his thesis entitled 'Identity Formation in Christian Professional Footballers' from the University of Gloucestershire[21] in 2022 and was appointed Associate of Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge.

In the summer of 2023, a 14-year-old girl died at an event organised by Christians in Sport, held at Repton School.[22][23][24]

Public speaking

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Daniels has been a regular speaker at St Andrew the Great Church, Cambridge since October 2000 [25] and frequently hosts the Christians in Sport podcast.

He has spoken widely about the themes of faith and sport on mainstream media channels including Sky Sports,[26] Talksport,[27] the BBC[28] and in podcast interviews.[29]

Personal life

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Daniels is married to Michelle. They have three children and five grandchildren.

References

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  1. ^ "Team | About". Christians in Sport. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  2. ^ "our team".
  3. ^ "Dr Graham Daniels, Ridley Associate". Ridley Hall. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  4. ^ "The men who bring God to the squad". The Independent. 27 November 1995. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  5. ^ "AN EVENING WITH DAVID MOYES". www.cambridge-united.co.uk. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  6. ^ "Google". www.google.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  7. ^ "Community Podcast - Clip 3 | COMMUNITY PODCAST (CLIP 3): Graham Daniels, Chair of Cambridge United Community Trust, speaks about food, phone calls and fitness with Simon Wall, CUCT's... | By Cambridge United Foundation | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  8. ^ "Pictures from the Cambridge United Community Trust gala dinner at the Imperial War Museum in Duxford". Cambridge Independent. 10 May 2019. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  9. ^ "Cambridge United have 'equally powerful ambition' to thrive off the pitch". InYourArea.co.uk. 31 March 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  10. ^ "Sport Archives". EFL Trust. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  11. ^ Trust, E. F. L. (18 May 2018). "Cambridge United establish school mental health project 'Mind Your Head'". EFL Trust. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  12. ^ Georgeson, Andrew (28 February 2018). "Graham Daniels discusses his and Ben Strang's new titles at Cambridge United". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  13. ^ Georgeson, Andrew (18 December 2017). "What are the key talking points from Cambridge United's statement". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  14. ^ Georgeson, Andrew (10 March 2020). "Changes coming for Cambridge Utd as director of football leaves role". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  15. ^ Page, Stephen (1 April 2021). "'No way' U's should be top of League Two with level of resources, says Daniels". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  16. ^ Page, Stephen (18 May 2021). "The story behind Cambridge United's promotion success". CambridgeshireLive. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  17. ^ "Cambridge United to create new women's football board". Cambridge Independent. 31 May 2022. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  18. ^ "'Faith has a place in professional football'". www.christian.org.uk. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  19. ^ "Born to Play". Christians in Sport. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  20. ^ www.thoughtcollective.com, Thought Collective. "My Mate's Gone Mad by Graham Daniels". 10ofthose.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  21. ^ "Graham embarks on PhD at 53 - Student stories - University of Gloucestershire". www.glos.ac.uk. 2 November 2021. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  22. ^ "Girl, 14, dies after falling ill at Christian sports camp". Oxford Mail. 21 August 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  23. ^ "Girl, 14, dies after falling ill at top UK private school sports camp". The Independent. 17 August 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  24. ^ https://www.itv.com/news/central/2023-08-17/girl-14-dies-after-falling-ill-at-derbyshire-summer-camp-at-repton-school
  25. ^ Butler, David. "Graham Daniels talks at St Andrew the Great". www.crosspreach.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  26. ^ "Christians in Sport CEO Graham Daniels on Sky Sports News | Huge thanks to Sky Sport News HD for featuring how Christians in Sport are supporting sportspeople around the country during the coronavirus crisis.... | By Jersey Road PR | Facebook". www.facebook.com. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  27. ^ Danno speaks with TalkSport during the Covid-19 pandemic
  28. ^ "BBC One - Songs of Praise, Faith and Sport". BBC. Retrieved 23 May 2023.
  29. ^ Real Lives with Graham Daniels - the Director of Football, retrieved 23 May 2023

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