Brian Burgess, former deputy chairman of Brentford and part of the group who helped deliver the new stadium for the English Championship football club, has been named in the Queen’s Birthday Honours List.
Burgess, a current trustee of Brentford FC Community Sports Trust, has been awarded the British Empire Medal for his service to football. The British Empire Medal is granted in recognition of meritorious civil or military service. Burgess, currently an associate director, was nominated for his work for the Trust.
Burgess was one of the original members of Bees United, the Brentford FC Supporters’ Trust, and subsequently became chairman. He was in this position when Bees United completed a takeover of Brentford in early 2006, helping raise the funds required to refinance the club.
Burgess helped pave the way for the initial involvement of current owner Matthew Benham and served as deputy chairman until taking up a paid position on the Brentford Community Stadium project in 2008.
Burgess first started working in a voluntary capacity on the stadium project in 2002 and was on the boards of Lionel Road Developments Ltd and Brentford FC (Lionel Road) Ltd until 2017. He has also been a trustee of the Brentford FC Community Sports Trust charity since it became an independent trust in 2005.
Burgess was also chairman of Supporters Direct, the umbrella organisation that provides support and assistance for its member trusts to secure a greater level of accountability and deliver democratic representation within football clubs and within football’s governing structures, for five years.
Brentford Community Stadium opened for the start of the 2020-21 season, with TheStadiumBusiness.com focusing on the story behind the project here.
Image: Brentford FC
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