The Football Pools unveils a hat-trick of new faces on its Pools Panel
Rachel Brown-Finnis becomes first female panellist as it celebrates 60th anniversary
The Football Pools has added three new members to its Pools Panel with former Liverpool, Manchester United and England striker Michael Owen, Rangers icon Derek Johnston and former England goalkeeper Rachel Brown-Finnis joining the team.
Brown-Finnis becomes the panel’s first ever female expert. The trio join another former Liverpool legend Ian Callaghan who was a member of the England World Cup winning squad of 1966.
The Pools Panel, which was formed in 1963, predicts the results of postponed matches throughout the domestic football season and decides the all-important score draws. The Football Pools and The Pools have paid out billions of pounds to its players over the last 60 years.
The announcement comes at a time when The Football Pools and The Pools are relaunching its affiliate programme with casino and sportsbook affiliates being offered a range of generous deals to promote both brands to their UK audiences.
Owen, who recently announced classic winner Hugo Palmer as the new trainer at his Manor House Stables in Cheshire, which he co-owns with Betfair founder Andrew Black, said of his new role: “The Football Pools has been a tradition for generations of families and mine is no different. My dad used to do the Pools and he would even let me get involved in picking some of the games.”
“Now I can no longer affect results as a player, I’m delighted to have been asked to sit on the panel to hopefully put my knowledge of the game to use to help others.”
John Stevens, managing director of The Football Pools and The Pools, advised: “Since the Pools Panel was set up in 1963, we’ve had some of the biggest names in the game predicting results.”
“Our new members represent football from different generations, from both sides of the border and we’re very proud to have our first ever woman panellist with Rachel. We are confident that we’ve created a winning team in what is such a landmark year for us.”
“It is great to be announcing the new Pools Panel at the same time as we are relaunching our affiliate programme and looking to engage with new publishers about promoting our brands to their audiences.”