Sir Chips Keswick: Former Arsenal chairman dies, aged 84

Former Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick has died at the age of 84.

A lifelong fan of the club, Sir Chips joined the Arsenal board in 2005 alongside Lord Harris and became an influential figure at the club.

He was promoted to chairman in June 2013 when Peter Hill-Wood stepped and held the role for seven years.

During his time as Arsenal’s chairman, the club regularly competed in the Champions League and won the FA Cup twice.

Following his retirement, Sir Chips was able to spend more time with his family and indulge in his other great sporting passion, horse racing. He was a respected owner of numerous racehorses over the years.

Sir Chips originally made his name in the bank industry and was chairman of Hambros Bank and also a director of the Bank of England.

In a statement posted on Friday morning, Arsenal said: “It is with great sadness that the club reports the death of former Chairman, Sir Chips Keswick.

“A lifelong Arsenal supporter, he was a regular at Highbury after first standing in the boys’ enclosure in 1949 and listed his early heroes as the Compton brothers and Jimmy Logie but, above all, goalkeeper – and later manager – George Swindin, as young Chips was a budding schoolboy keeper himself.

“Sir Chips very much lived the values of Arsenal Football Club and guided the club expertly for the subsequent seven seasons, stepping down in May 2020, shortly after he had celebrated his 80th birthday.

“During his time as Chairman, he oversaw the club’s regular participation in the UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup victories of 2017 and 2020 with the latter, fittingly, a successful ending to his very positive association with the club.