Portsmouth Football Club Magazine July 2020 | Page 4

Defending Pompey
and the planet
PORTSMOUTH FOOTBALL CLUB DEFENDER CHRISTIAN
BURGESS ALWAYS DREAMED OF PLAYING PROFESSIONALLY.
BUT THE ROAD WASN’T EASY.
Released from the Arsenal Academy at the
age of 12, young Christian had to cope with
his dream seeming ‘further away than [he]
ever thought.’ Despite losing some confidence,
Christian didn’t stop playing altogether. Sunday
league games led to stints in the youth team and
reserves for semi-pro side Bishop’s Stortford. But
he was set on a different path – to university for
a higher education.
Life, however, had other plans. During Christian’s
second year studying for a History degree, he
was offered a two-year deal by Middlesbrough
F.C.
Not wanting to sacrifice either his studies or
the sporting opportunity of a lifetime, Christian
completed his BA as a part-time student, while
playing professional football. He’s grateful
for his university experience: ‘You learn how
to cook, clean, look after yourself. You have
that responsibility of managing your bills, your
money. It gives you some real life experience and
is a fantastic way of meeting new people and
expanding your horizons.’
At his first university’s own football club,
Christian learnt important life lessons, helping
manage decisions about everything from
finances to coaching. He learned on the pitch
too: ‘Leadership skills, teamwork, discipline. And
that all transfers over really well when you have
to manage your own self and your own learning.’
Since arriving at Portsmouth Football Club
five seasons ago, Christian says his experience
has been ‘Amazing.’ He explains, ‘The fans are
incredibly passionate and it’s like nothing I had
experienced before. It’s very rare throughout
English football that you get to play at a club
with support like this. So, it has been such a
privilege.’
Christian is excited for Pompey’s prospects
under the ownership of the Eisners. ‘They’re
putting in the infrastructure to make the Club a
success from the bottom upwards, building up
the Academy and really securing the future of
the Club.’
Christian thinks about the future a lot. A
committed environmentalist, he was recently
referred to as ‘the Greta Thunberg of football’
in a national newspaper profile. He explains:
‘I went vegan and part of the reason was the
environmental impact eating animals has.
When you transition, you read and watch a lot
more. You learn a lot about the environment
and what is happening – deforestation and the
other effects agriculture has. It’s clear we’re
outgrowing this planet and the rate the Arctic is
melting is, quite frankly, scary.’
He urges people to read The Uninhabitable Earth
by David Wallace-Wells, to ‘get a full grasp of
where the planet is, environmentally, and how
close we are to a climate crisis.’
VEGAN EATING THE
CHRISTIAN BURGESS WAY
As a footballer, he feels lucky to have been
granted a platform, which he sees as ‘an
opportunity to gently nudge people in what I
think is the right direction.’ If he could influence
one change, it would be for people to stop
eating meat and fish.
As a keen scuba diver, Christian has ‘a real
appreciation’ of what goes on under the sea.
That’s why plastic is another big concern of his.
He praises the ‘enormous’ potential of research
at the University of Portsmouth, where scientists
explore ways to engineer enzymes that rapidly
dissolve plastic, creating a recycling solution
to the plastic pollution that blights the world’s
oceans.
While researchers toil in the labs, Christian has
been working with the Club to reduce the use
of single-use plastics, starting with a project to
install refillable water stations at the training
ground. Looking ahead to a post-football career,
Christian is determined to keep playing a part
in conservation efforts, whether as an activist
or perhaps even by getting involved in politics.
But that’s several years down the line. There are
plenty of games to win first.
We wish Christian the best of luck playing for his
new Belgian team next season.
In Christian’s fridge, you’ll always find plant milks - oat and coconut - plus broccoli and
cauliflower. Lentil dahl with cauliflower is one of his favourite dishes. Whether in a
chickpea curry or alongside sweet potato and some vegan sausages, broccoli covers
all bases. Christian eats a lot of chickpeas, lentils and different legumes and nuts,
supplemented sometimes with fake meats. A packet of vegetarian ‘bacon’ or tofu
comes in handy because of the protein content.
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