In case you missed it see what’s in this section
We recommend
Let's Talk
Your Total Guide To sport
Footballers to reunite at Bath University this weekend to celebrate Ivor Powell
Footballers from the past 40 years will come together at the University of Bath this weekend to celebrate the extraordinary life and record-breaking career of coaching legend Ivor Powell MBE.
A reunion match for Bath alumni is taking place at the Sports Training Village on Saturday (July 9), when Powell – who would have celebrated his 100th birthday on Tuesday, July 5 – will also be posthumously inducted into the University’s Hall of Fame for Sport.
Powell – who won eight caps for Wales during a playing career that included spells at QPR, Aston Villa and Blackpool – is an iconic figure at the University. He first joined the coaching staff in 1972 and by the time he retired in May 2010, aged 93, was recognised by the Guinness Book of Records as the world’s oldest active football coach.
Generations of football students were taught ‘the Ivor way’, taking to heart the five characteristics he believed all good performers should have – aggression, determination, work-rate, the will to win and consistency.
He passed away in November 2012 but his legacy lives on in the Ivor Powell Sports Scholarship Fund, which is awarded to undergraduates pursuing a dual career in education and sport. The current recipient is Mathematics student Joe Choong, who has been selected to represent Team GB in modern pentathlon at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games.
Powell’s family will be attending the reunion on Saturday, with son Bill set to accept the induction into the Hall of Fame for Sport on his father’s behalf. That ceremony will take place in the Sports Training Village at 11.30am.
That will be followed by a match on the athletics in-field featuring footballing alumni who played under Powell, with some of the 30 players who have already signed up having been students when he first arrived in the 1970s.
Spectators can enjoy a barbecue on the Sports Café balcony overlooking the pitch and there will be plenty of time afterwards to catch up with old friends.
People are welcome to attend on the day and any alumni who would like to play should email Deputy Director of Sport Greg Sharp at [email protected].
This weekend’s event is part of the University of Bath’s 50th-anniversary celebrations.
Weather in Bath
Listings