ec les eco es one of the ost po erful figures in foot all

By Elizabeth Agnes

HIGHLY RESPECTED Omar

Beckles has become one of the most powerful figures in football having recently been elected as the new chair of the players union, the rofessional Footballers ssociation F eckles, ust , takes up the position having been chosen by fellow members of the F s layers oard

The layers oard, made up of elected F members from the remier eague, WS and F , is the formal player representation body within the union

The -person board also includes representatives of the thousands of former players who retain access to F services and support eckles replaces F chair ohn ousinho, who was recently appointed as head coach of eague ne club ortsmouth

Privilege

Beckles has won seven caps for renada since making his debut in eckles, who plays for eyton rient, will now work with aheta olango and the e ecutive team, ensuring players views are communicated and represented in the running of the union

“I m honoured to be elected to this role It s a real privilege to be chosen to represent the players, eckles told rient s official website on the appointment

“ s aheta has said, we really want the F to be player-centric, with members at the heart of what the union does I ll be the link from the dressing room, making sure that the players are at the centre of everything we do

“I m looking forward to fighting the members corner and building on the great work done by ohn ousinho eckles, whose previous clubs include ccrington, Shrewsbury and rewe, has been a longterm ambassador for promoting positive change in the areas of mental health and wellbeing and last year was recognised for his work at eyton rient with the eague Two F layer in the ommunity ward at the F wards

“ mar brings a wealth of eperience to the role I ve already en oyed working with him as a member of the players board and I m looking forward to continuing and building on that relationship, said olango RECOGNITION: mar eckles in action for eyton rient