The £4m jammies
LOCKDOWN LEAD TO VITAL DONATIONS FOR CLUBS
all the clubs when you could give it to the trust of a club you support?
“From a corporate point of view, we were just starting to think about donors and never in our wildest dreams did we think someone like James would appear and be so genuinely philanthropic. “
But Nicky, 35, said a lot of the credit should be given to another woman – Hearts’ owner Ann Budge – for making it all happen.
She said: “It came out of the blue. I was making Play-Doh pizzas with my daughter when our treasurer phoned and told me to check my email as a potential donor had been in touch. I jumped on the computer and all the wheels were set in motion.
“We were lucky James came to the table ready and willing. He had an initial conversation with Ann about doing something with the Sunday league teams and she felt that because of his philanthropic approach and interest in football he would be better having a chat with us.
“Despite this, his donation wasn’t a given because no one gives £ 2.5million plus gift aid even if they are interested in the cause. It’s the biggest individual donation that has ever been made to Scottish football.”
That £ 3.125million deal from Anderson, a fund manager and partner with investment management firm Baillie Gifford, was followed on Friday by a further £1.25million donation from the anonymous donor.
Nicky said much of the negotiation for both deals, which will help football clubs support communities during the Covid-19 crisis and its aftermath, was done in bed in the wee small hours.
She said: “I managed to build a trusted relationship with James, even though we have still not met in
person and all our discussions have taken place over Zoom. He wanted to make sure all clubs got an equal share and trusted us to know how to ensure it was used in the right areas of the community.
“All 42 clubs applied for the £50,000 grant, which will be spent on unforeseen expenses that have been incurred due to Covid. Kilmarnock, Celtic and Aberdeen have requested the money be given to their associated charity.
“Then, last week James introduced us to an anonymous donor, who has given a further £1.25million. The 28 club charities associated with SPFL clubs will be eligible to receive a £10,000 Covid-19 Crisis Fund grant.
“Even though it was stressful doing internet conferences as a pregnant mum of one while my keyworker husband was out working full-time, I loved every minute of it.”
Nicky, who has two grown-up stepdaughters, is one of only a handful of women involved in top p o si t ions within foot b a l l and hopes she is forging new paths for other er females to follow in her footsteps.
She got a job at Falkirk FC after er leaving Stirling University and helped ed establish their foundation. She then en became CEO of the SPFL in 2017.
Nicky said: “At the time, I underes- timated how important it might be e to see a female CEO at Hampden.
“We are definitely outnumbered d but I haven’t had any problems. In the early days, when I was meeting people from clubs, they perhaps assumed I didn’t understand their world but I had already been involved in football at community and commercial level for seven years so it didn’t take long for them to realise I knew what I was talking about.
“Hearts’ owner Ann Budge and Hibs CEO Leeann Dempster have always been great to deal with.
“I hope I can inspire other women to carve out a career for themselves within the footballing world.”
Nicky, who met her husband David Brawley, 42, when he was a coach at Falkirk FC, added: “I love what I do o and hope I can continue to support t the SPFL with the great work they do.” .”