Vernon stepping down from Right to Dream after 26 years

Now the group has Academies in Denmark, Egypt, Ivory Coast and the USA, as well as in Ghana, and professional clubs with Nordsjaelland in Denmark and San Diego in the MLS.

Last March, Vernon stepped down as CEO of Right to Dream to take on the role of Executive Vice Chairman and now he is exiting the Board altogether. The Englishman said: “I will dedicate my time to new impact visions I have, compounding the learnings from the philosophy that sits at the core of the organisation I founded 26 years ago. 

“I will remain highly focused on the governance, visioning and operations of my Right to Dream Foundation in Ghana, which hosts the Ghana Right to Dream Academy. We have an incredibly bright future in Ghana and so much opportunity. 

 “I leave FCN knowing I gave it everything I had. To everyone who helped me in building the amazing club we have become I have the deepest thanks. In its short history, FC Nordsjælland has a list of remarkable Chairmen who have delivered improbable success.

“I’m proud to have led a remarkable team that have added another great chapter the past eight years.

“There are very few clubs in the world who are a reference point of excellence across as many performance indicators as FCN. I’m extremely proud of what we managed to achieve. I learned more than I gave and I will always be a tiger. 

“In my closing weeks to see the Right to Dream vision come to life in such a dramatic way in San Diego is remarkable, but clear evidence of what’s possible when holding true to the original values of football and the belief that everyone has the right to dream, as I have for the past 26 years. More to follow.”

Vernon was our guest on Episode #47 of the TGG Podcast, explaining the origins and philosophy of Right to Dream.

He said: “I started Right to Dream from very humble beginnings, with the first 16 players we picked moving into our house. It was a real grassroots effort.

“At the same time I was seeing how European football was getting it wrong and that caused a lot of unlearning and re-learning for me as a white English guy trying to have an impact in Africa. They had an extractive mindset, which was that you can set something up, take the pieces you want and discard the rest.”

Outlining the overarching beliefs of the organisation, he added: “The philosophy at Academy level is that we believe in development of excellent culture through our character programmes and our purpose programmes.

“We believe in the development of excellence in academics through our curriculums and pathways. And we obviously believe in excellence in development in football.

“So it’s a holistic model to development that is long-term commitment for every child and then trying to create the right pathway for every kid coming through our Academies, not just the ones who get into football.

“And then the last big piece of Right to Dream: we think our broader brand and message has potential to inspire people who maybe aren’t in professional football. We believe everyone has the right to dream, and that’s every person on the planet.”

Vernon was also our Keynote Speaker at TGG Live 2024 and TGG Members are able to rewatch his presentation HERE.