Governance
The Players Foundation aspires to uphold the highest standard of governance. The Board of Trustees have independent control over the administration and activities of the Charity. The Trustees have been appointed in accordance with the Memorandum and Articles of Association.
Gareth Farrelly – Chair
Gareth Farrelly enjoyed a distinguished career as a Premier League footballer and Republic of Ireland international before he retired early from the game due to a life-changing illness and qualified as a lawyer.
Gareth’s 16-year playing career took him to leading clubs including Aston Villa, Everton and Bolton Wanderers, amongst others, alongside winning six caps for his country.
Today, Gareth is a Litigation and Sports Lawyer with Glaisyers ETL. He is also a co-founder and CEO of the Union of European Clubs.
Gareth has built and been involved in a number of large class actions representing individual clients and sportspeople, as well as other complex high value tax fraud litigation and associated negligence actions. He has also been involved in high-profile bullying and historical sexual abuse cases in football.
He is a member of the Football Association’s Judicial Panel and sits on both the Chairman’s Panel and the Football Panel. Gareth is the President of the MIP Alumni Association, a group of former international players who completed a Master’s Programme developed by UEFA.
Gareth is a member of Sport Resolutions’ Independent Panel of Arbitrators and Mediators and was previously a Court of Arbitration for Sport Arbitrator and Premier League Judicial Panel Member.
Rob Clare – Vice-Chair
Rob Clare is an experienced former professional footballer who played for Stockport County and Blackpool in the English Football League (EFL) and also made two appearances for the England Under 20 team.
Since retiring from the game in 2008, Rob has held a number of senior sporting roles, including the post of Commercial Manager at Stockport County, where he spent three years leading a team generating commercial income for the club and securing sponsorship for the Community Foundation.
For the last nine years, Rob has been working for the Laurus Trust, where he is currently the Sports and Community Development Director. The Laurus Trust is a Multi-Academy Trust, committed to providing exceptional education to its family of schools across Stockport, Manchester, Tameside and Cheshire East.
Rob is passionate about inclusivity and the need to nurture grassroots sport and in 2014 co-founded a new semi-professional football club, Stockport Town FC. This has provided unique opportunities for young talented footballers to showcase their skills, and many have since progressed to playing within the EFL.
As a Trustee at The Players Foundation, Rob brings with him a wealth of contacts across leading sporting organisations, including The Football Association, The Football Foundation, Sport England and the England and Wales Cricket Board. He is also a committee member of the Stockport County Players Association, which offers support to current and former players.
Martin Prothero
Martin Prothero spent almost 30 years with sportswear brand Umbro. Martin, as Senior Vice President, was involved across all levels of the game, nurturing relationships with clubs, players and The FA.
Martin is a former Director of Charlton Athletic Football Club.
Harpreet Robertson
Harpreet Robertson has a wealth of experience of working in professional football for over 20 years.
Harpreet is currently Director of Player Management and Care at Red Berry Management, where she supports footballers and elite sporting professionals during and beyond their playing careers. She also works with the Football Supporters’ Association, building strong stakeholder relationships with Premier League Clubs and their supporter groups.
As a passionate advocate of diversity in the game, Harpreet sat on the Kick It Out Strategic Partner Advisory Board to advise and support its work tackling discrimination and driving positive change.
Harpreet spent 16 years at The Football Association where she held key positions such as the Head of Customer Relations and leading the England Supporters Club and Football Family. She worked closely with both the England men’s and women’s teams across ten UEFA Euro and FIFA World Cup tournaments.
Harpreet is a current Board Director at the Middlesex FA Community Football Centre, working to support the strategic direction of the facility and ensuring football remains accessible to every member of the community.
Professor Sue Bridgewater
Sue Bridgewater is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Liverpool, where she founded and directed the Centre for Sports Business, set up the globally ranked MSc Sport Business and directed Executive Education for the Management School.
Sue has worked with football stakeholders around the world and has a long-standing relationship with the League Managers Association, where she founded and directs the association’s diploma for professional football coaches and managers.
Sue has been a member of UEFA’s Research Grants and Awards Jury since 2014 and subject-matter expert for UEFA in women’s football. She was a Board Director for Women in Football from 2016 until 2023, championing greater gender diversity in the football workforce.
Prior to joining the University of Liverpool in 2013, Sue completed her MBA and PhD at Warwick Business School, where she spent over 20 years teaching and researching in the areas of marketing strategy, international marketing and sports marketing.
Sue has taught and developed executive education for a wide range of blue-chip clients and has also published extensively in the areas of marketing, sponsorship, diversity and sport.