www.mansfieldtown.net
Prior to the game against Cheltenham Town on Saturday 6 May Chairman Keith Haslam that he would be standing down form the role of Chairman at Mansfield Town FC, but will remain at the club in the role of Managing Director. Taking up the challenge of Chairman is Peter Lee a man with a wealth of experience and expertise which should help drive MTFC Forward.
Peter Lee retired as the Chief Executive of the Football Foundation and the Football Stadia Improvement Fund on 31 March 2006 having spent 20 years at the heart of football developments in the UK.
The Foundation / FSIF is a partnership between Government, the Football Association and the FA Premier League. It has an annual core budget of £45m and provides grants for grass roots facilities in parks and school, community and education projects and safety and improvement work at football clubs at all levels of the game from the Football League Championship down. Launched in 2000, under Peter's leadership the Foundation has become the biggest sports charity in the UK, bringing together Government and football to benefit communities and the grass roots of the game. It harnesses football's ability to act as a delivery vehicle for social inclusion, health, education and motivational projects. The Foundation and the FSIF have invested some £250m in projects worth over £600m.
Peter was Chief Executive of the Football Trust and the Sports Grounds Initiative from 1990 until the Football Foundation was set up. He was thus at the helm throughout the 1990s which saw the implementation of Lord Justice Taylor's recommendations following the Hillsborough Stadium Disaster. The trust played a key part in helping to fund the resultant transformation in safety and improvement of football grounds in the FA Premier League and the Football League.
Before that he spent 25 years in the civil Service, mostly in the Department of Environment. He served in Ministers' Offices and the Sports Policy Directorate playing a key role in the Football Spectators Act 1990. His departmental brief on football included the Chairmanship of the Council of Europe's Standing Committee on Spectator Violence.
Peter's other posts whilst Chief Executive of the Foundation included
Chairman of the Foundation's Community and Education Panel
Director of Kick it Out, Football's anti racism initiative
Member of the FA Women's Football Committee
Member of Barclays Spaces for Sport Steering Committee
Following his retirement, Peter has been appointed Chairman of the Welsh Football trust, a partnership between the Football Association of Wales, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Sports Council for Wales, providing access to coaching and facilities to increase participation and improve Standards throughout Wales.
Peter will be taking the reigns from June 15th due to prior commitments.