Tony Adams
We're expecting some fancy footwork
| Fact title | Fact data |
|---|---|
| Age |
55
|
| Profession |
Football Manager and Former Footballer
|
Meet Tony Adams
Let's hope Tony's fancy footwork scores high with the Strictly Judges!
It's time for Tony Adams to join a whole new team: Team Strictly 2022!
This former footballer first found the sport at the age of six, joining his local club Romford Juniors and soon found that football was his calling. On his 14th birthday, Tony signed with Arsenal's youth division, before being given his first contract with the club and making his debut in 1983. As they say, the rest was history, seeing Tony go on to become Arsenal's youngest ever captain at 21, and remain in the position for the next 14 years. With Tony at the helm, the team took home four league titles, three FA Cups and two league cups, and by 1996 he'd also landed a spot as England team captain.
After 22 years and as Tony reached his thirties, he began to suffer injuries and retired from professional football altogether. In his final match in 2002, Arsenal won 2-0 against Chelsea, allowing Tony to end on a high having played in a whopping 674 matches.
In 2004, Adams was inducted into the English Football Hall of Fame in recognition of his impact on the game, and a statue of his likeness stands tall today outside Arsenal's Emirates Stadium. He also received an MBE in 1999 for services to football.
Since leaving the pitch moving over to football coaching and management, Tony has led the Wycombe Wanderers, Portsmouth FC, Azerbaijani club Gabala FC and La Liga club Granada. He also helped establish the Sporting Chance charity, following his own struggles with alcoholism and addiction during his career, and now works with Six Mental Health Solutions, delivering solution-based education and treatment to the sports and business communities.
Now it's time for Tony to join our class of 2022 and we can't wait to see what techniques he brings from the pitch to the dance floor!
