Clarke Carlisle

Clarke Carlisle football career began when he made his debut for Blackpool in September 1997, before moving to Queens Park Rangers in 2000. He then had spells at Leeds United and Watford before joining Burnley. Experiencing the highs and lows of professional sport, he has won promotion with both Blackpool and Burnley, represented England and has played at the prestigious Wembley Stadium. However, in 2001 Clarke suffered a posterior cruciate ligament injury which almost ended his career.

A prominent face in football, even since his retirement in 2013, he was formerly the PFA Chairman and the first current, at the time, professional footballer to appear on BBC’s Question Time, as well as appearing on three episodes of Channel 4’s prime-time quiz show Countdown.

Clarke is an ambassador for the Kick It Out scheme; a scheme that campaigns for inclusion and equality in football, and has authored two documentaries, “Football’s Suicide Secret” and the critically acclaimed “Is Football Racist?”, alongside penning his autobiography.

Known for his eloquence and candour, Clarke has spoken openly about the depression which has dogged most of his adult life. Publicly discussing his mental health struggles and attempted suicide has put Clarke in a position of influence to aid the breakdown of the stigma around the subject. He is an ambassador for the mental health charity Mind making him an ideal speaker on mental health and wellbeing.