Former Arsenal player and football speaker Kenny Sansom once held the record for most capped England full back for his time on the national team in the 1980’s. Retiring in the 1990’s Sansom has remained in the public eye after his personal life garnered notorious headlines, now working as a sports speaker at corporate eventsand club functions Sansom remains popular amongst dedicated Gunners around the world.
Starting his career at Crystal Palace in 1975, two seasons later he captained the Crystal Palace junior team to FA Youth Cup success while also skippering the England youth team at the same level, collecting Palace’s “Player of the Year” award in his first season. Renown for being quick, calm and strong in the tackle and an excellent crosser of the ball, Sansom missed just one league game in a consecutive run of 156 games, starting back in 1976, when Palace were in the Third Division. In the 1978–79 season Crystal Palace won the Second Division championship with Sansom integral to the young team. They were quickly labelled as the ‘Team Of The ’80s’.
Sansom is most well-known for the eight years he spent at Highbury where he helped the club take the 1987 Football League Cup. He made almost 400 appearances with the Gunners and is the team’s second most capped player, behind Patrick Vieira who holds the record with 79. After leaving Arsenal, Sansom played for a number of other teams but upon taking retirement in 1995 worked prolifically as a football speaker for the team.
Throughout his career as both a player and football speaker, Kenny Sansom found himself the subject of tabloid headlines, drinking and gambling problems saw Sansom taken in and out of police custody whilst business and investment troubles caused him to lose much of his fortune. Kenny Sansom speaks of these experiences and turbulent times during his work as a football speaker and discusses his resilience through tough times to ultimately come out on top and learn from the experiences.
A proud International for England, Sansom was an integral part of the 1982 World Cup as well as being the first-choice left back for the 1986 World Cup in Mexico. Kenny Sansom returned to football as a veteran player and began working as a sports broadcaster, pundit and football speaker for both British and international radio and television. He is frequently called upon to give comments on the outcome and performances of both Arsenal and Crystal Palace games and made satellite appearances as a commentator and sports speaker for the Australian broadcaster Fox Sports.
More recently Kenny Sansom has worked as the co-presenter and football speaker for LBC’s Saturday footballbroadcast and has appeared as a tour guide for the exclusive “Legend’s Tour” at Arsenal’s new Emirates Stadium. With a glittering and colourful career to his name, Kenny Sansom is an incredibly well respected figure within football and his wealth of knowledge along with his diverse repertoire of stories make Sansom a very sought after football speaker. Kenny Sansom is certain to be a wonderful addition to any event as a football speaker.