This year’s Commonwealth Games will be extra special for the WAB team.

We are incredibly proud of our Chairman John Crabtree, OBE, who, for the past four years, has also been Chairing the Organising Committee for the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games!

The Prime Minister appointed John as Chair of the Committee back in 2018 and along with his fellow Committee members, he has been working tirelessly on the organisation of the Games ever since. Joining John on the Organising Committee are, among others, five-time World Karate Champion and founder of the charity Youth Charter, Prof. Geoff Thompson MBE FRSA DL and Five-time Paralympic Champion, Ellie Simmonds OBE.

John has also been made Chair of the Trustee Board for the Games legacy charity ‘United by 2022’. United by 2022 is working to build a community fund that will enable some of the best projects started by the Games to continue and carry on its legacy. United By 2022 is designed to help ensure the Games and its legacy can reach the most disadvantaged communities in the region, supporting projects that:

• Are Community-led
• Keep the Games for Everyone vision alive and promote fairness and social inclusion.
• Ensure venues and other Games assets are turned into well-used and well-loved community spaces after the Games.

You can read more about United by 2022, the Vision of the Games and the projects that are already being supported by United by 2022, here.

John has always been incredibly passionate about the West Midlands, doing whatever he can to support the region. In 2017 he was appointed by Her Majesty the Queen to be her representative, becoming Lord Lieutenant of the West Midlands. John was also a Director of Advantage West Midlands, the former regional development agency, for seven years and he is a former President of the Birmingham Chamber of Commerce & Industry.

John said: 

“Since I took on the role of Chair of Birmingham 2022 I have been clear that as individuals, as neighbours, as communities, and as a region we must seize the Games moment as a catalyst for our region. United By 2022 will help us to do that, creating durable legacy, and healthier, more prosperous futures for many.” (taken from Birmingham2022.com)

John really is the perfect man for the Commonwealth Games job, combining his life-long love of sport with a region that he knows and loves so well.

Across two weeks of sports, Birmingham will play host to over 6,500 athletes, from 72 teams hailing from 54 nations and 18 territories. The Games begin on 28th July and run until 8th August.

Everyone at WAB would like to wish huge good luck to John and his Committee and all of the athletes competing.