OUR BOARD

Julia has been the Trust’s chief inspiration, chairperson and driving force since its inception in 2018. It fell upon Cyrille’s widow to decide a fitting salute to her husband as she came to terms with the shock of his death at home in January 2018 and she recalled a conversation over an anniversary dinner with him just few months before.

“Cyrille spoke of his approaching retirement and what he might do afterwards,” Julia recalled. “And he talked about wanting to build a charity from which he could help youngsters who needed guidance, who were facing real struggles in life. He cared deeply for that and it is a conversation which I never forgot.”

Julia, a successful businesswoman in her own rite, threw remarkable energy, perseverance and drive into delivering on Cyrille’s vision – and the Trust was born.

An award-winning consultant, Julia’s impressive CV expanded still further in 2024 when she was appointed Senior Independent Director of England Golf.

David is Cyrille’s younger brother and a former professional footballer who fought his way from non-League football to enjoy a successful career with a number of clubs including Notts County, Plymouth, Stoke City and Birmingham City.

Injury brought an early retirement after which he obtained a degree in Education and has since qualified as an FA Coach, personal trainer and a trainer quality management in sport auditor.

We are delighted to enjoy his continuing support of the Trust.

A close friend to Cyrille and former Jamaican international well known for his professional footballing days at Notts County, Birmingham City and Derby County.

He later worked as an England age group coach after becoming the first coach to lead Guyana’s national team to a major tournament.

Michael made a big impact with an inspirational address to the Trust’s 2023 graduates at the FA’s St George’s Park HQ.

Simona brings legal and financial knowledge to our Board of Trustees. She started her career as a paralegal before moving to the financial regulation sector.

An experienced manager and motivator, Simona has a proven track record of achieving high levels of performance and efficiency for her clients. She enjoys a reputation of delivering first-class results for complex projects.

Graham is the General Director of Christians in Sport and a Director of Cambridge United FC. Another former professional player, Graham played for both of the city’s clubs until his retirement in 1999 and shared Cyrille’s deep commitment to the Christian faith.

He is an associate staff member at St Andrew the Great Church in Cambridge and also sits as Chair of the Cambridge United Community Trust.

Duncan Jones is a journalist and former Editor of Television Sports News for the BBC. He has worked at major sports events all over the world. Duncan continues to work as a freelance journalist and alongside his work for the Cyrille Regis Legacy Trust, he is also Vice-Chair of The Wolverhampton Grand Theatre.

He is a former Trustee of Alzheimer’s Society and now works to make sport more accessible for people whose lives are affected by dementia.

A lifelong West Bromwich Albion supporter, Duncan followed Cyrille’s professional career from the start and is honoured to be part of a charity which celebrates his achievements and promotes his legacy.

Martin is a retired former award-winning sports journalist from the Midlands region who covered much of Cyrille’s career during which he became a huge admirer of the footballer and the man.

Martin’s final role, as Director of Communications at West Brom, meant that he was charged with the task of helping to organise the club’s tributes to the great man following his sudden death.

“It was the saddest of times but the Trust is the perfect legacy. If you knew Cyrille, you knew just how much the work would mean to him,” he says.

Coventry-born Terry is another who, like Cyrille, progressed his football from semi-professional origins to enjoy lengthy full-time spells with Northampton Town and Fulham.

Since then, his career path has illustrated his commitment to helping others, first as a Probation Officer for the Prince’s Trust at Solihull College and now as a Community Equalities Executive with the Professional Footballers Association.