Darren Eales

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Darren Eales
Personal information
Date of birth (1972-08-06) 6 August 1972 (age 49)
Place of birth Chelmsford, England
Position(s) Forward
Club information
Current team
 Atlanta United (president)
College career
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1991–1994 Brown Bears
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
1995–1996 Hampton Roads Mariners
1997 Hershey Wildcats 5 (0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only

Darren Eales (born 6 August 1972) is an English retired association football striker who played both collegiately and professionally in the United States. He was a 1995 first team All American and earned his Cambridge Blue in 1998. In July 2010, he was appointed director of football administration at Tottenham Hotspur.[1] He currently serves as president of Major League Soccer's Atlanta United.[2]

Early life[]

Eales grew up in Cambridge, England. As he approached the end of his secondary education, he was faced with the decision of attending u university or pursuing a football career. When approached by an American university scout offering him the opportunity to both play and attend university, he decided to move to the United States.[3]

Education and college football[]

Eales attended Brown University, a member of the Ivy League, playing on the school's NCAA Division I soccer team from 1991 to 1994. In his final season, he was the Ivy League Player of the Year and a first team All American. He received a first class bachelor's degree in economics.

Playing career[]

U.S. football[]

In 1995, Eales signed with the Hampton Roads Mariners of the USISL. He spent two seasons with the Mariners, scoring 24 goals in 19 games in 1995.[4] In 1997, he played five games for the Hershey Wildcats.

English football[]

Eales continued to play at the amateur level. In 2001, he joined the Newmarket Town Reserves in the Kershaw League.[5] He later moved to the Lancashire County Football Association where he played for Millhead Reserves from 2004 to 2006 and Higher Poynton from 2006 to 2007.

Professional career[]

In 1997, Eales returned to England, where he read law at Cambridge, and gained his Cambridge Blue in 1998. He became a member of the bar in 2000 and eventually joined 2 Temple Gardens.[6] On 6 May 2006, he was hired as an in-house legal counsel by West Brom.[7] and was subsequently made a Director and Company Secretary.

On 2 March 2010, Spurs announced that Eales was joining them as club secretary at the end of that season.[8] On 1 July 2010, he officially joined the club as Director of Football Administration.[1]

On 10 September 2014, Eales was named the president of the new Atlanta MLS expansion club, Atlanta United FC.[2]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b Club Announcement Tottenham Hotspur, 1 July 2010
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Tottenham Hotspur executive Darren Eales named president of MLS Atlanta expansion club". mlssoccer.com. 10 September 2014.
  3. ^ NCAA Division I Breakout Coaches and Student-Athletes in the Year 2000 National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics, 20 June 1995
  4. ^ The Year in American Soccer – 1995 Archived 5 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine American Soccer History Archives, 29 January 2006
  5. ^ Eales dives in to end the deadlock Archived 8 July 2012 at archive.today Cambridge News, 3 October 2002
  6. ^ Vicarious Liability for sport at work – from Scotland Thompsons Solicitors, Law Bulletin – October 2005
  7. ^ Trading Places Times Online (subscription required)
  8. ^ Club Announcement Tottenham Hotspur, 2 March 2010
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