James receives MBE

AFC Bournemouth and former England international goalkeeper David James received an MBE at Buckingham Palace this (Thursday) afternoon.

The 42 year old was presented with the MBE by HRH The Prince of Wales
for services to football and charity.

His playing career has spanned almost 25 years, starting his career with Watford in 1988 making 98 appearances, before a £1million move to Liverpool followed in 1992. He spent 7 years on Merseyside winning the League Cup in 1995 and making his first England appearance in 1997. Overall he made 280 appearances for Liverpool.

A move to Aston Villa for £1.7million followed in 1999 and after two seasons and 85 appearances he moved to West Ham for £3.5million. Three years and 102 appearances at Upton Park followed before a £2million move Manchester City. Once again he spent two years there making 100 appearances before a £1.2million move to Pompey.

During his time at Fratton Park he worked with both Cherries 'advisor' Harry Redknapp and Cherries manager Paul Groves, winning the FA Cup in 2008. He made 158 appearances over four years with Portsmouth and remained a regular in the England team winning 53 caps.

He eventually moved on to Bristol City in 2010 where he made a further 84 appearances, bringing his career total to a massive 960 appearances for clubs and country.

The 42 year old became a free agent after being released by Bristol City during the summer of 2012 and he briefly trained with League Two side Exeter City to remain fit.

In September 2012 he joined up with the Cherries for training and quickly agreed a deal to join AFC Bournemouth until the summer of 2013. So far he has made 6 appearances for the Cherries.

Away from football, David James visited the south eastern African nation of Malawi in 2005 to help raise AIDS awareness and he later set up the David James Foundation which helps communities in Malawi improve their food supply by farming the land they live on and develop more efficient production techniques.

James has also been involved with the Special Olympics Charity where he has been a global ambassador, the charity offers sports provision to deprived areas of the UK.

James told the Daily Mail...

'I am extremely honoured to be receiving an MBE today. It is not an award that one sets out to achieve, making me even more appreciative to those that put my name forward.

'I have had many years playing football, years that have given me tremendous enjoyment. They have also allowed me to get involved in many charitable campaigns, for this, I am very grateful.'

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