Garth Crooks

Journalist and former football player

Garth Crooks is a former footballer who currently works as a journalist for the BBC. He began his career at Stoke City FC, but is best known for his time at Tottenham Hotspur (1980-85), where he was part of the team that won two FA Cups and the 1984 UEFA Cup. Later in his career, Crooks played for West Bromwich Albion and Charlton Athletic and spent time on loan at Manchester United. He became the first black chairman of the Professional Footballer's Association in 1988, but gave up the role when he retired from football in 1990 due to a knee injury.

Crooks' career in the media began in 1982, when he worked as a match analyst at the World Cup in Spain, performed the same role at the 1990 World Cup in Italy, and was the BBC's journalist in the England camps for Euro 2002 and the 2002 World Cup. He now works for the BBC, where he's a pundit, and where he regularly appears on the television shows Final Score and Match of the Day, and writes for the BBC's website. He currently sits on the board of Capital City Academy, a north-west London school.