Rachel Anderson (football agent)

Rachel Paula Anderson MBE (born September 1953) is a British football agent. She was the UK's first female FIFA-licensed agent.

Career
Anderson's first occupational interest was journalism. As an agent, she has represented Don Hutchison, Julian Dicks, Michael Hughes, Joe Royle and more than 50 football players over her career. She has also represented companies such as Universal and Paramount, and worked on brands such as Superman and Bugs Bunny.

In 1993, Anderson negotiated the sale of Julian Dicks from the West Ham to Liverpool for £3 million.

In 1998, she was refused admission to the PFA's annual Awards evening, which at the time was men-only. She subsequently sued the PFA and was awarded £7,500 damages, plus costs.

Personal honours
Anderson was appointed Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the 2016 Birthday Honours for services to Gender Equality in Football. <!-- Anderson's proudest achievement was when she was awarded the MBE for gender equality in football. Today Anderson is focusing on clubs rather than just players.

Sexism
Anderson has always encountered sexism. Even as a young girl. When she wanted to go to a rugby game or a football game she would use the guise of going shopping because her father and brothers referred to rugby as "gentleman's game." http://inspire-football.blogspot.com/2014/08/players-agent-how-rachel-anderson.html As one of the only women in her field, Anderson documents frequent experiences of sexism. One chairman reportedly told her that "women should be barefoot and pregnant and shouldn't be in a boardroom." Another experience she recalls is when she enters the room, the people will ask "Where is he then?" and assume she is the secretary. The most infamous sexist encounters she experienced is when she was turned away twice for trying to attend the Professional Football Awards Dinner in 1997 and 1998.

Court case and outcomes
In 1997, a group of Football players invited Rachel Anderson to attend the Professional Football Awards Dinner. However, when she arrived she was turned away at the door by then PFA Deputy Chief Executive Brendan Batson. The only reason she was turned away was because she was female. Anderson believed it was some kind of joke but with no humor in sight she turned around and left. The following year, in 1998, despite having an invitation from first footballer ex-West Ham Julian Dicks, Anderson still could not attend the PFA dinner because of her gender. http://www.offtheball.com/soccer/rachel-anderson-football-agent-interview-254912 Julian Dicks wrote a letter to the PFA Chief Executive Gordon Taylor defending Anderson. Taylor wrote back. His responses included No, we can't let you in because if we did, we'd have to let wives, girlfriends or even mothers come along. http://www.offtheball.com/soccer/rachel-anderson-football-agent-interview-254912 He also wrote "The PFA awards dinner has been a men-only evening for the 25 years since its inception and the PFA management committee have made a decision that it should remain so." http://www.independent.co.uk/news/female-football-agent-ruled-offside-1151380.html Anderson's father encouraged her to protest. Anderson wrote a letter to prime minister Tony Blair, who in return, backed her up and urged her to pursue a case in court. Anderson also secured all-party support from the House of Lords. Later in 1998, Rachel Anderson hired a lawyer to sue the PFA for sex discrimination. Her case was taken to the High Court. Although the case cost her £210,000, Rachel Anderson won. She obtained more than £45,000 in interim costs and she was awarded £7,500 in compensation for "hurt feelings." http://www.theguardian.com/football/2013/apr/27/rachel-anderson-pfa-football Over twenty years later, the case still makes headlines. Anderson feels there are still issues of discrimination in football and ‘there is a little bit to go’, but that the situation with females in the game is ‘a hell of a lot better’. https://www.whufc.com/news/articles/2017/february/21-february/we-all-follow-west-ham#GQgJVVw69pFqQWI9.99 All registered female players in the Women's Super League are eligible for PFA membership.

Personal life
Rachel Anderson is one of eleven siblings, which includes five brothers. Anderson made a significant amount of money via property sales. She currently lives in Greenwich, South London with her husband, John of 30 years. Anderson has two children Natasha, who was training to become a lawyer and James, who is a Vegan. https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/agent-rachel-anderson-tells-how-568537 Rachel Anderson has appeared on two UK talk shows, Loose Women (1999) and Breakfast (2011) https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2519252/ She was a guest football agent on a Sports Tonight YouTube video which aired on January 19th, 2012. She was awarded the MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) in the 2016 Queen's Birthday Honours List for her services to Gender Equality in Football in Leigh-on-Sea, Essex, England. https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2519252/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm -->