UK Edition
Bob Higgins 'held key' to careers of desperate young players in his care
As youth coach at Southampton in the 1980s, Bob Higgins had the power to make or break the careers of hundreds of desperate young players under his watch. But as a predatory paedophile, the role also gave him the access and power he needed to groom and abuse many of those who looked up to him.
Higgins had dreamed of being a professional player as a boy, but was forced to concede at an early age that he would not be able to make the grade. Instead, he gained respect as a scout and a youth coach, with a keen eye to spot potential in young players and help nurture and develop those skills.
He joined Southampton in the early 1970s and over the next two decades played a key role in bringing through some of the club’s best players.
His home near the club became an open house for young boys who were attending training sessions at weekends or during the school holidays. The players, who were dreaming of making it in the game, were only too aware that impressing Higgins was vital if they were to succeed.
And he was able to exploit this with virtual impunity to molest and abuse whoever took his fancy.
Higgins was also highly skilled at convincing parents he had their children’s best interests at heart and easily won their confidence
Les Cleevely, who went on to become a successful goalkeeping coach, told the BBC that he had been mesmerised by Higgins as a 12-year-old.
Excited about being invited to stay over at his house one night, he said the experience soon turned into a “horror story” as he was abused while he sat watching Match of the Day.
“He had power over our careers. It was everything we wanted in life as kids, he held the key to. Some people thought, ‘Is it going to put my situation in jeopardy?’”
But for many boys, who were unable to ignore what was happening to them, they gave up on football. One of those who could not bury the abuse was Billy Seymour, a trainee at Southampton from 1983 until 1986. After quitting football, his life spiralled out of control and he struggled with anger issues and even ended up spending time in prison.
At one point he threatened to kill a taxi driver with a knife because he reminded him of Higgins.
He eventually waived his anonymity to bravely go public about the abuse. But the 47-year-old died before he saw his abuser face justice, when he was killed in a car crash in Oxfordshire this year.
Rumours about Higgins’s inappropriate behaviour towards the youngsters had circulated for a number of years and in 1989 he was forced to leave Southampton after being confronted by a concerned colleague.
In 1991, he was charged with six counts of indecent assault against young boys he had been coaching. The trial had been due to take place at Southampton Crown Court but Higgins was acquitted on the direction of the judge when the prosecution offered no evidence.
This allowed him to remain in football and he later set up his own school of excellence called the Bob Higgins Soccer Academy.
Police and social services remained concerned about the risk he posed, however, and in 1997 Hampshire Constabulary and social services wrote to schools and youth groups warning them to contact the authorities if he attempted to recruit youngsters or use their facilities.
Despite the warnings, Higgins continued to be involved in the game as a coach.
After spending some time in Malta, he began working at Peterborough United and was later appointed manager of the non-League side, Bashley, until he was sacked in 2001.
He was later appointed the first-team coach with Fleet Town, where he remained until 2016 when the lid came off the football abuse scandal.
The publicity encouraged a number of Higgins’s victims to come forward and the police began to build a new case against him.
The guilty verdicts mean he faces a lengthy prison term when he is sentenced at a later date.