Robbie Williams - Port Vale

This article was generously provided to ClubFootball by the British Council, which operates in China as the Cultural and Education Section of the British Embassy.

Now one of the world's most successful solo artists, the ex-Take That singer's love of his football and his local club, Port Vale, is well-known to all his fans. Robbie often performs his concerts dressed in his team's home kit and still attends Port Vale matches whenever he returns to visit his parents in Stoke-on-Trent.
 
It's not a surprise that he is such a devoted fan of Port Vale when you learn that his mother used to own a pub next to the club's training ground and as a child, used to watch his beloved team practising there every day. He often tells the story of how, when he couldn't sleep as a boy, "I would dream of running down the left wing and putting the goal in the net at Port Vale FC. And I still have that dream now".
 
Robbie is still a very keen footballer, and recently made the news when he startled some children playing football in Manchester by landing his helicopter next to their pitch and asking if he could join in!

May 2001