Arthur Drewry (3 March 1891 – 25 March 1961) was an English

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

administrator who served as the fifth president of FIFA, the world

governing body A governing body is a group of people that has the authority to exercise governance over an organization or political entity. The most formal is a government, a body whose sole responsibility and authority is to make binding decisions in a taken ...

of association football, from 1955 to 1961. Drewry held several football administration posts in his native England, serving as chairman of

The Football Association The Football Association (the FA) is the Sports governing body, governing body of association football in England and the Crown Dependencies of Jersey, Bailiwick of Guernsey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man. Formed in 1863, it is the oldest footb ...

and president of

The Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in the world, and was the top-level football league in England from ...

Biography

Drewry was born in

Grimsby, Lincolnshire Grimsby or Great Grimsby is a port town in Lincolnshire, England with a population of 86,138 (as of 2021). It is located near the mouth on the south bank of the Humber that flows to the North Sea. Grimsby adjoins the town of Cleethorpes direc ...

, and educated at the Grimsby Collegiate School.Our Association Football Correspondent. "Mr. Arthur Drewry." ''The Times'', London, 27 March 1961, pg 19. In 1911 Drewry joined the Lincolnshire Yeomanry and served in the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

with the 1/1st Lincolnshire Yeomanry in Palestine. Drewry reached the rank of

quartermaster sergeant Quartermaster sergeant (QMS) is a class of rank or appointment in some armed forces, especially those of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth of Nations, Commonwealth, and formerly also in the United States. Ireland Quartermaster sergeant () a ...

with his squadron in the Yeomanry. After the war, in 1919, Drewry married the daughter of a Grimsby fish merchant, and Drewry would run his father-in-law's business until his retirement in 1953. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Drewry served as North Lincolnshire's head warden and chief fire guard. Drewry held several civic roles in his native Grimsby, serving both as a borough councillor and a Justice of the Peace.

English football administration

Drewry's career in football administration began with his serving as a director of

Grimsby Town Grimsby Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in Cleethorpes, North East Lincolnshire, England, that competes in , the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed "the Mariners", the club was f ...

, the chairman of the club was Drewry's father-in-law, and Drewry himself would also become chairman of the club. Drewry later served as President of the

Football League The English Football League (EFL) is a league of professional association football, football clubs from England and Wales. Founded in 1888 as the Football League, it is the oldest football league in Association football around the world, the w ...

from 1949 to 1955. Drewry served on the Football Association's International Selection Committee from 1944, and after his presidency of the Football League served as chairman of

(FA) from 1955 to 1961. Drewry succeeded Amos Brook Hirst as chairman of the FA; Hirst had resigned due to ill health. As chair of the FA Drewry once proposed awarding a point to league teams for every goal scored to encourage offensive football. Drewry's proposals were rejected by the teams. Drewry played a significant role in the 1950 game between England and the United States in which the English lost 1–0 to the rank outsiders in the

1950 FIFA World Cup The 1950 FIFA World Cup was the 4th edition of the FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial international Association football, football championship for senior men's national teams. It was held in Brazil from 24 June to 16 July 1950. It was the first Wo ...

Belo Horizonte Belo Horizonte is the List of largest cities in Brazil, sixth-largest city in Brazil, with a population of around 2.3 million, and the third largest metropolitan area, containing a population of 6 million. It is the List of cities in Sout ...

.''The Guardian'', London, 20 March 2003, pg 63. The English national coach,

Walter Winterbottom Sir Walter Winterbottom (31 March 1913 – 16 February 2002) was an English football player and coach. He was the first manager of the England national team (1946–1962) and Director of Coaching for The Football Association (the FA). He r ...

, had wanted to rest some players for the next game against Spain, but was over-ruled by Drewry, acting as sole selector, who chose an unchanged team from their last game, a 2–0 win against Chile.

Stanley Rous Sir Stanley Ford Rous (25 April 1895 – 18 July 1986) was an English football referee and the List of Presidents of FIFA, 6th President of FIFA, serving from 1961 to 1974. He also served as secretary of the Football Association from 1934 to 196 ...

, Drewry's secretary at the FA, visited him and urged him to include

Stanley Matthews Sir Stanley Matthews (1 February 1915 – 23 February 2000) was an English Association football, footballer who played as an Forward (association football)#Outside forward, outside right. Often regarded as one of the greatest players of the Br ...

and make other changes to the team, but Drewry was adamant in his desire to keep an unchanged team. After the loss against the United States, Drewry acquiesced to four changes to the team, but England lost their next game to Spain 1–0, and as a result were eliminated from the tournament. In 1953 Coronation Honours, Drewry appointed a Commander of Order of the British Empire (CBE). Following the

Munich air disaster The Munich air disaster occurred on 6 February 1958, when British European Airways Flight 609 crashed on its third attempt to take off at Munich-Riem Airport in Munich, West Germany. The aircraft was carrying the Manchester United F.C., Manche ...

on 6 February 1958 which claimed the lives of a number of

Manchester United Manchester United Football Club, commonly referred to as Man United (often stylised as Man Utd) or simply United, is a professional association football, football club based in Old Trafford (area), Old Trafford, Greater Manchester, Engl ...

staff and personnel, Drewry was appointed chairman in March of the fundraising committee for dependents of those involved in the disaster. The funds raised had reached £52,000 () by the time of their disbursement in October 1958. In his capacity as chair of the FA, Drewry was one of six football officials sued by five

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

players who were suspended in 1957 for refusing to answer questions about possible illegal payments.''The Guardian'', London, 10 October 1959, pg. 2

served as Drewry's secretary at the FA. Drewry and Rous travelled to Switzerland in 1945, to the headquarters of FIFA to successfully negotiate for the re-admittance of the British Home Nations to FIFA.

President of FIFA

Drewry had been appointed the vice-president of FIFA by

Jules Rimet Jules Rimet (; 14 October 1873 – 16 October 1956) was a French football administrator who was the 3rd President of FIFA, serving from 1921 to 1954. He is FIFA's longest-serving president, in office for 33 years. He also served as the pres ...

, and served as the interim president for the six months following the death of Rimet's presidential successor, Belgian Rodolphe William Seeldrayers. At the 30th

FIFA Congress The FIFA Congress is the supreme legislative body of the International Association Football Federation (French: Fédération Internationale de Football Association), commonly known by the acronym FIFA . FIFA is the international governing body of ...

in Lisbon, Portugal, Drewry defeated France's M. Larfarge by 38 votes to 16 for the presidency. Drewry oversaw the

1958 FIFA World Cup The 1958 FIFA World Cup was the 6th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was played in Sweden from 8 to 29 June 1958. It was the first and only FIFA World Cup to be played in a Nordic country. Br ...

during his term in office, and ultimately served as president for five years before his death from a year-long illness in 1961. Drewry was the third FIFA president to die in office.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Drewry, Arthur 1891 births 1961 deaths Territorial Force soldiers British Army personnel of World War I Chairmen of the Football Association Commanders of the Order of the British Empire Councillors in Lincolnshire English football chairmen and investors Grimsby Town F.C. People from Grimsby Presidents of FIFA Presidents of the English Football League Lincolnshire Yeomanry soldiers English justices of the peace 20th-century English businesspeople Military personnel from Lincolnshire