Tributes to respectedected chairman
IF a story summed up quite how much Anthony Hughes loved his football, it came from those strange post-Covid days.
Self-isolating because of his cancer treatment, the proud Merthyr Town supporter would take his position on a grass bank that gave the perfect view into the Martyrs’ Penydarren Park.
It was a club he had been involved with nearly his whole life, both as an official and, firstly, as a fan.
“At the age of three or four, I would be kicking a ball around at the side of the pitch at Merthyr Tydfil with my dad who was ever-present at the club,” he said in a 2021 interview with the Southern League Goals Show. “It meant that I became entrenched in the Southern League; from the late 1960s until I was into my late 30s my team was part of it and I would watch them week in, week out without fail.”
His football life took him from programme editor to secretary and director, as well as a member of FA Council and, his dream role, Southern League chairman.
Hughes passed away this week. He is survived by wife Debbie and children Victoria and Shaun.
The outpouring of love and support shows the respect he commanded across the game.
“Anthony was relatively unique,” Northern Premier League chairman Mark Harris told The NLP. “A Welshmen, representing an English league in an English competition, but aligned to a club in Wales.
“The key thing with Anthony, he was always very measured and professional in everything he did. He always fought the corner of the Southern League very, very hard. But he also had that rare ability to see the whole picture from everyone’s perspective. He was a joy to work with. It’s left us all really quite numb. He was a good mate to us all.”
Dignity
Hughes was a great supporter of this paper, contributing Merthyr’s match reports for many years.
In the summer of 2022, having served as vice-chairman, he proudly became Southern League chairman.
Then 58, it was a role he took on with immense gratitude having fought against pancreatic cancer.
“I know how lucky I am and I’m aiming to make the most of it,” Hughes told The NLP at the time as he continued his pivotal work for the league and on FA Council.
Isthmian League chair Nick Robinson said: “Anthony was a personal friend as well as a football colleague.
“He was a well-respected football man for all the right reasons. He had much experience in many roles and at The FA he always fought hard for the best interests of his league.
“I had hoped to go to a match with Anthony only two weeks ago but he was not able to join me. A very sad loss to the football family.” The FA’s Head of National League System, Laurence Jones, said: “Anthony was one of the nicest people I have worked with in the game and more importantly, he was a valued friend and advisor.
“Anthony was so proud of his roles at The FA and Southern League which he carried out with great wisdom, dignity and enthusiasm. The football family has lost a wonderful servant who will be sadly missed by all who knew him.”
Hughes’ passion for football crossed boundaries. He’d attend England C v Cymru C games as part of the Three Lions’ delegation but he pulled on the red jersey to follow Wales in the Qatar World Cup.
Tributes
Much admiration came from how he approached his cancer battle.
“He was very positive,” Harris said. “He didn’t like to talk about it much. But my own wife had an operation for breast cancer last year and, despite his own struggles, he was still there to give her fantastic help and support. That’s what he was like.
“He was also a real, real football fan. He’d go anywhere to watch a match. I remember a picture on social media in the summer and he’d gone to Valencia. He was always up for going to a game.”
Tributes have been paid from across football and Merythr held a minute’s silence before yesterday’s Southern Premier South game against Didcot Town.
The Southern League said: “As Anthony prepares to go on his final journey, we thank him for all that he has done, not only for the Southern League, but for football in general throughout his life in which he did so much for the game that he loved with such passion.”
National League general manager Mark Ives said: “What I admired most about Anthony was “the man” – his integrity, diplomacy and above all, he was simply a genuinely nice man – a true gentleman.
“I will miss him and will miss the fun he was to be around, and the Non-League game will certainly miss him.”
