Graham Daniels

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

References

{{|url=https://www.youtube.com/c/ChristiansInSportUK?app=desktop}}

{{|url=https://www.apassionforlife.org.uk/episode-9-the-lord-is-the-lord-of-the-harvest-not-me}}