Culture Secretary Appoints Four New Board Members at the Sports Grounds Safety Authority

Culture Secretary, John Whittingdale, has appointed Joyce Cook OBE, Susan Johnson OBE, Philip Kolvin QC and David Mackinnon as Board Members of the Sports Grounds Safety Authority for three years from 8 February 2016

Joyce is the founding and Managing Director of the Centre for Access to Football in Europe (CAFÉ) and Chair of Level Playing Field, a charity that campaigns for disabled sports fans in the UK. Joyce is also a member of the Football Association’s Inclusivity Advisory Board. Joyce was a member of the London 2012 Olympic Delivery Authority’s Built Environment Access Panel and a consultant to LOCOG. She was a member of the FA’s Disability Equality Advisory Group and is an expert advisor to EPAS, the Council of Europe and its Disability Committees on Sport and Women and Girls and other governmental bodies and sits on various diversity and access groups. Joyce is also active in the wider equality arena as a board member at FARE (Football Against Racism in Europe) and a Director of Women in Football, a UK network of professional women working in and around the football industry who support and champion their peers and aim to improve women’s representation at all levels of the game. She is an expert on accessible stadia and the built environment for sporting events and continues to provide specialist advice to UEFA and FIFA and is the author of the UEFA and CAFE Good Practice Guide – Access for All.