Carlisle United Football Club would like to congratulate former-shareholder and Managing Director John Nixon who has received an MBE in HM The King’s New Year honours list for services to Association Football.
John has been handed an MBE following his long-service to the EFL as Chair of the EFL Trust who are a vital part of communities up and down the country, to the FA as an England Ambassador and his services to Carlisle United.
A lifelong supporter of the club, John was first appointed as a director in 2003. He then became Managing Director on 1 January 2006 after a long career in business with Pirelli.
John was then part of the ownership group which took over from Fred Story in 2008, alongside Andrew Jenkins and Steven Pattison. He continued his role as Managing Director, completing ten years in that position until June 2016 when he stepped back and moved to the new role of Director of External Affairs on the 1921 board.
He handed over the reins and full day-to-day operational control to current Chief Executive Nigel Clibbens in the summer of 2016, and remained in the role of Director of External Affairs on the 1921 board in a non-executive capacity, as well as continuing as a director on the Holdings board. This continued until the recent change of ownership when John left the Holdings board and remained a 1921 director to support the change-over of ownership before stepping down in July this year.
Chief executive Nigel Clibbens said: “John has provided great service to the wider game in his many roles with the FA and EFL over many years, beyond Carlisle United.
“In particular as Chair of the EFL Trust over a long period, the organisation evolved to make a huge contribution to communities through football. It’s a proud moment for John and his family and shows the esteem he is held in across the football community.”
John Nixon said: “It was a complete surprise, never expected but a huge honour. A massive thank you to my wife Margaret who supported me throughout and got up and got me to the 05.45 and 06.48 trains for meetings in London to do this role at the EFL Trust , my FA commitments and EFL director duties.
"The Chairmanship of the Trust was challenging with funding issues at the beginning, but then the growth from a £5m per year business to £20m per year which was coupled with the thrill of connection to 72 football clubs and the benefit they were providing their communities.
"I had a great organisation led by Mike Evans, CEO of EFL Trust and his team who were all brilliant.
"I’m so proud for my family and for my club , Carlisle United, who have supported me throughout."
