One of the highlights of UCFB Burnley’s executive speaker series in 2015 was undoubtedly the visit from former English international footballer and successful media pundit, Danny Mills.
A packed auditorium greeted the former Manchester City, Leeds and England player, who now has forged a successful media career alongside work as director of a private equity business and patron of the charity Shine.
Former England international Danny gave the students an insightful talk into his experience as an international footballer, which included playing every minute of England’s five games at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in South Korea and Japan, as well as his career in sports broadcasting.
After retiring from football at the age of 30 due to injury, Danny decided to pursue a career in sports media and broadcasting. Beginning his journey at BBC Radio 5 Live, he went on to work for a number of top broadcasting stations such as the BBC, Sky Sports and BT Sport. Danny had always dreamt solely of playing football at an elite level, however after finding his way into broadcasting upon retirement, he immediately loved it.
Danny finished the session by providing some great advice, mirroring UCFB’s DNA by encouraging students to “be the best that you can be and always aim high.” He also praised the UCFB facilities, commenting:
“I think UCFB is fantastic. Getting people into the sports industry and training them in all of the different aspects of the industry is absolutely great. Sport and business are becoming more entwined with one another and nowadays you don’t have to have played the sport to be involved in the business side of it. This is a great place to begin your career in sport.”
