FWA Live – a huge success
Our latest FWA Live, on Wednesday August 9th in London, was a huge success, generating many talking points from a star-studded line-up and more importantly raising a five-figure sum from the London Fire Relief Fund to assist the victims of the Grenfell Tower disaster.Arsene Wenger spoke at length and at times with great humour about his situation at Arsenal, signing players and the future of management. Les Ferdinand spoke movingly about the tragedy at Grenfell, where he grew up, and how QPR are hosting an all-star Game4Grenfell on Sept 2nd.
Paul Elliot discussed the transfer market, 25 years of the Premier League and why some players choose punditry over a coaching career when they retire. FWA member Henry Winter, fresh from a day working at Brighton, said one of Albion's players remarked that Manchester City had spent more on full-backs than Brighton spent on their new stadium and training centre combined!
Finally Gary Lineker, arriving slightly later than the others, spoke with wit and great inside knowledge about the transition from top player to broadcaster, how good the English media is for football and fans, and the changing landscape over 25 years of the Premier League.
The panel was expertly hosted by Jacqui Oatley, who brought her own experiences as a woman working in football to the discussion. The audience of around 200 paying guests were able to ask their own questions in the second half of the evening, bringing out the wittier side of the panel at times.
Overall it was a tremendous success, and with our sponsors William Hill kindly agreeing to match the amount raised by ticket sales, we raised over £10,000 towards the London Fire Relief Fund.
Look out for more from the event on our social channels and website.
Twitter @theofficialfwa Facebook: Football Writers' Association Instagram @fwaofficial. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQ9LhQ5_JpN-0vax-4Hbhxw
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