The Football League issued a warning to clubs about Bob Higgins, the former Southampton youth coach named in connection with allegations of historical sexual abuse of children, as long ago as 1989, the Guardian can reveal.



Higgins went on to work with youngsters at other clubs including Peterborough United and was still a coach in the game when the abuse scandal was broken by the Guardian last month.

A letter from the Football League, which at the time administered and regulated football from the top-flight professional game all the way down to youth level, said it was “opposed” to the “Bob Higgins Soccer Academy” (BHSA).

Dated 27 April 1989 and addressed to “the managers of all clubs”, it read: “I understand that you may recently have received a letter from Mr. Bob Higgins, inviting your club to become involved with the above organisation [BHSA].

“The Football Association, Football League and English Schools’ Football Association are opposed to this organisation and I would ask all clubs which might be thinking of becoming involved to give this office the opportunity of appraising them of the situation before taking any steps in this direction.”

The letter is signed by the secretary at the time, David Dent. It does not spell out exactly why the warning was issued. The Guardian has passed the letter on to the Football League, which is now branded the EFL. It said it was investigating the letter.



Scan of a letter sent in April 1989 to all Football League clubs warning them not to get involved with the Bob Higgins Soccer Academy. Photograph: No credit

Higgins worked with youngsters at Southampton, who are renowned for their youth system, in the 1980s, leaving in April 1989 – the same month as the letter was sent. In 1992 he faced charges of sexual offences against boys but was cleared on the direction of a judge.

The BBC has reported that in 1997 more letters were sent to clubs warning them about Higgins. Police and social workers said they believed “Mr Higgins poses a risk to children”, the broadcaster said.

Higgins joined Peterborough as a youth coach in the mid-90s and the club said on Monday: “Mr Higgins was employed by the football club by previous owners and a past management team. The club are holding an internal investigation into this matter and will take any allegations seriously. We will co-operate with all of the governing bodies and the police during this time.”

He later worked as the manager of Bashley FC in Hampshire until he was sacked in 2001. The club secretary, Mike Cranidge, told the Guardian Higgins had worked with adult players and Bashley had not been aware of concerns about him. Cranidge, who was not at the club at the time, said Higgins was not very popular at Bashley. “They say he wasn’t a very nice character,” he said.



After leaving Bashley, Higgins went on to manage Winchester City briefly and was recently working for the Hampshire club Fleet Town FC on what has been described as an “informal unpaid basis” but has now left. Fleet’s chairman, Steve Cantle, said that Higgins was not police checked in 2012 as his role did not involve working with children.

Over the weekend the BBC said it had spoken to six players who had named Higgins to police. The Hampshire force is understood to be investigating but has refused to confirm this.



Former players who have alleged they were abused at Southampton include Dean Radford, from Bristol, who used to stay over on the south coast when he was a youth player there.

Radford said: “You don’t live every day of your life crying your eyes out and walking around with your head down – you get on with life as normal – but you still have it there, it’s buried there deep, and it comes up, and it will keep coming up for the rest of my life.”

In 1997 the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary investigated Higgins. It reported that after the court case he became a born again Christian and that he baptised players in his bath at home.

According to Dispatches, Peterborough issued a statement at the time: “Bob Higgins left by mutual consent. The club were not prepared to tolerate his strong religious influences upon its young players.”



Higgins sent a one-and-a-half-page response to Dispatches in which he denied all allegations of abuse. He said he baptised players at their request in his bath and that they wore football shorts at all times. Higgins told Dispatches: “Faith healing … I fully admit to this. I am proud that I have been given with my wife the gift of healing through God.”



Even after Higgins left Peterborough, it appears that at least some within the club were prepared for his links with it to continue. The club’s then youth development officer, Kit Carson, told the Peterborough Telegraph at the time that Higgins would continue to scout for the club in southern England.

Higgins had left because he lived in Southampton and the commute was too much for him, Carson said. Carson told the paper: “Bob lives in Southampton and runs a very successful soccer academy down there. The travelling between jobs was simply too much.

“Bob will no longer be in charge of youth teams but will continue to scout for the club in the south. He has done a wonderful job with the youth team this season. Ten of our boys have achieved international honours and three members of the youth team have gained professional contracts.”

The Guardian’s revelation that the Football League was concerned about Higgins’ activities as long ago as 1989 will raise fresh questions about why he was able to continue to work in football and what different clubs knew about him.



The Football League was the sport’s top-level league in England from its foundation in 1888 until 1992, when the top 22 clubs broke away to form the Premier League.



The Guardian has not been able to contact Higgins about the allegations against him. Southampton have said they are “committed to working together” with police to investigate any historical allegations.

The allegations about Higgins are the latest blow to a game that is reeling over a spiralling child abuse scandal that began when the former professional Andy Woodward told the Guardian he was abused by a coach as a child.

At least 18 police forces across Britain are investigating allegations made by 350 alleged victims. The NSPCC said it had received and was processing almost 1,000 reports to a hotline.

Chelsea launched their own inquiry after the former player Gary Johnson revealed he had signed a confidentiality agreement with the club in 2015 in return for £50,000 after he alleged he was abused by the club’s then chief scout, Eddie Heath, in the 1970s.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the Premier League club said it was clear Johnson had “suffered unacceptably” and that the club had “no desire to hide any historic [sic] abuse we uncover from view”.

The game’s governing body in England, the Football Association, has launched an inquiry and several top players, including the England captain, Wayne Rooney, have urged children and parents to speak out if they have any concerns about abuse.