Inspirational Worthing FC owner George Dowell recognised in New Year Honours list

George has been given the honour for services to football and to disability awareness.

And as he approches his tenth season as Worthing FC’s owner, you can only admire the transformation in their fortunes that he and those who have backed his vision have overseen.

George is in good company too – Brighton and Hove Albion owner Tony Bloom has also been made an MBE for services to football and to the community.

He told the Worthing FC website he was ‘blown away’ to be made an MBE and added: “What an incredible end to 2023, firstly becoming a Dad and now this, totally blown away by it all – I thought it was a scam when I first received the letter. I had to hunt out an email address online so someone could confirm it was true and I was being awarded an MBE, I couldn’t believe it.”

George’s own football career, which had seen him start to come through the Worthing ranks, was ended by a serious car crash in 2010 when still a teenager, which left him confined to a wheelchair and paralysed from the chest down.

He decided to do something meaningful with his compensation and took control of the club at the end of the 2014-15 season when they were in danger of folding – investing heavily in wiping out all the club’s debts and funding a new 3G pitch, plus giving the club bar a complete makeover and paying for numerous other improvements to Woodside Road, work which has continued to this day.

George set up Worthing Football Centre to help create a community hub at Wooside Road, with the new artificial surface available for hire to all teams and age groups seven days a week. He also formed his own football team at West Sussex League level, Worthing Borough.

On the field fortunes took a little while to turn – but how they have soared since. The club won promotion to the Isthmian League premier division in 2016 for the first time since 2007 by winning the division one south play-offs.

After plenty more ups and downs, and promotion charges twice held up by Covid and lockdown-interrupted seasons, Dowell finally saw his dream of National League football for Worthing realised in 2022 when Adam Hinshelwood led the side to the Isthmian premier title.

The moment it was clinched, Geroge tweeted: “Almost 12 years to the day I broke my neck. I had to make new plans for my life and today we achieved them! My hometown club in the Vanarama National League and, arguably equally as important, now on Football Manager. Very proud day! Time to celebrate."

Their first season in the National League ended in a play-off place – although they lost to Oxford City – and the side lifting the Sussex Senior Cup, beating Bognor on penalties in the final at the Amex.

George said: “Woodside is unrecognisable from the place I grew up knowing as a young player, and that was what it was all about for me. To create a club that was welcoming to the community and a hub/facility for young local players to enjoy & develop.”

George’s MBE is also for disability awareness, which is a cause close to his heart.

In 2021 George and his partner Jessikah Lopez set up an Instagram page to show some of the challenges couples like them come across – and what they do to overcome them. He told us at the time: “We had both been thinking about doing this for a long time. We wanted to give an insight into our relationship and the challenges we face. “Our goal is to help as many people as possible and answer as many questions as possible.”

He added: “Obviously I don’t think of myself as an ‘inspiration’, but I do hope my story shows others that have had a Spinal Cord Injury, or any life-changing injury, that life does go on and there’s still plenty you can go out and achieve post injury. You may have to find a slightly different way of doing it, but if you’re passionate about something, you’ll find a way.”

Meanwhile back at Woodside Road, Worthing’s success has continued this season. They’re in the National South play-off places again and a prized place in the National League premier is their next aim – and no-one is enjoying seeing it unfold more than George Dowell.

Sorry… make that George Dowell MBE.