Ken Friar

Kenneth John Friar OBE, known throughout Arsenal Football Club as Mr Friar, was the club's life president and one of the longest serving figures in English football administration. Arsenal announced his death on 13 October 2026. He was 92. The cause of death was not made public.

Friar was born in Islington, London, on 13 August 1934 and grew up near Highbury. As a boy he played football outside the old stadium. The club's own lore holds that in the mid 1940s he kicked a ball under the car of manager George Allison, who was so taken with the boy's enthusiasm that he offered him part time work as a matchday messenger. Friar left school in 1950 and joined the box office full time, beginning a career that would last more than seventy years.

He rose through the club's offices and became company secretary in January 1973, succeeding Bob Wall. On 17 February 1983 chairman Peter Hill-Wood appointed him managing director, a post he held until 2000. In that role he negotiated player and manager contracts, strengthened links with supporters and the local community, and argued successfully against crowd fencing at Highbury. In the 1970s he also took part in talks with Tottenham Hotspur about a shared stadium at Alexandra Palace, a plan that never came to fruition.

After stepping down as managing director he concentrated on Arsenal's move from Highbury to a new ground. Working with fellow director Danny Fiszman, he helped deliver Emirates Stadium, which opened in 2006 and remains the club's home. He stayed on the board until September 2020, briefly serving again as acting managing director in 2008, and was then appointed life president. He continued to attend matches and remained a familiar presence around the club.

Friar was appointed OBE in the 2000 Birthday Honours for services to association football and received the Freedom of the London Borough of Islington in 2004. In 2011 the bridge linking Emirates Stadium to Arsenal tube station was renamed the Ken Friar Bridge, and a statue of him as a boy kicking a ball outside Highbury stands near the stadium museum.

He married Gwendoline Maureen Deacon in 1957. They had a son and a daughter. Gwen Friar died of pancreatic cancer on 29 December 2020, aged 88.

In its statement Arsenal said that since the club's formation in 1886 many inspirational people had driven it forward, but that no one had influenced Arsenal quite like Mr Friar, and that he left an extraordinary life of service as his legacy.