Christopher William McDonald (13 December 1931 – 2 December 2011) was an English

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

and businessman who served a prominent role as a link between

FIFA The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (), more commonly known by its acronym FIFA ( ), is the international self-regulatory governing body of association football, beach soccer, and futsal. It was founded on 21 May 1904 to o ...

and the JFA. He played mainly as a

goalkeeper In many team sports that involve scoring goal (sport), goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie, or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or i ...

, and occasionally as a

forward Forward is a relative direction, the opposite of backward. Forward may also refer to: People *Forward (surname) Sports * Forward (association football) * Forward (basketball), including: ** Point forward ** Power forward (basketball) ** Smal ...

Career

McDonald moved to Japan in April 1950, where he worked for the

NCR Corporation NCR Voyix Corporation, previously known as NCR Corporation and National Cash Register, is a global software, consulting and technology company providing several professional services and Electronics, electronic products. It manufactured Self-c ...

's Japanese branch. He became a director at

Rolex Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...

Japan in 1980, the company he would later become president and chairman of. He worked as an adviser to the JFA from 1992, and was a member of the J-League Consultative and Mediatory Committee from 1993 until 2008. McDonald played football as a child in his home country of England, and joined the Yokohama Country & Athletic Club soon after his arrival in Japan in 1950. He also played for Tokyo Club and TRICK Club, the latter of which he represented at the National Inter-City Tournament. He served as a liaison to FIFA president Sir

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 ...

during the

1958 Asian Games The 1958 Asian Games, officially the Third Asian Games () and commonly known as Tokyo 1958 (), were a multi-sport event held in Tokyo, Japan, from 24 May to 1 June 1958. It was governed by the Asian Games Federation. A total of 1,820 athletes repr ...

and

1964 Summer Olympics The , officially the and commonly known as Tokyo 1964 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 10 to 24 October 1964 in Tokyo, Japan. Tokyo had been awarded the organization of the 1940 Summer Olympics, but this honor was subseq ...

, where he helped act as an intermediary between

and the JFA. He also served as adviser to the Football Association of Japan, was on the World Cup Committee and was the representative in Japan of the New Zealand Football Association. During the 1960s and 70s, McDonald helped to secure numerous tours of Japan for English football clubs, including

Middlesex Wanderers Middlesex Wanderers A.F.C. is an English touring amateur football team. History When the Richmond Old Boys team (from the British School in Richmond, Surrey, failed financially after undertaking a tour of France, two members, brothers Bob ...

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

Manchester City Manchester City Football Club is a professional association football, football club based in Manchester, England, that competes in the Premier League, the English football league system, top flight of Football in England, English footbal ...

and

Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

. He was honoured with an

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding valuable service in a wide range of useful activities. It comprises five classes of awards across both civil and military divisions, the most senior two o ...

in 1978, for contributions to Anglo-Japanese relations, and to the British community in Japan, as well as the

Order of the Rising Sun The is a Japanese honors system, Japanese order, established in 1875 by Emperor Meiji. The Order was the first national decoration awarded by the Japanese government, created on 10 April 1875 by decree of the Council of State. The badge feat ...

, Gold Rays with Rosette in 2009. He was inducted into the Japan Football Hall of Fame in 2011, shortly before his death.

Death

McDonald died as a result of pneumonia in Tokyo in 2011.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McDonald, Christopher W 1931 births 2011 deaths English men's footballers English expatriate men's footballers Men's association football goalkeepers Men's association football forwards English expatriate sportspeople in Japan Expatriate men's footballers in Japan Footballers from London 20th-century English sportsmen Officers_of_the_Order_of_the_British_Empire