Britain’s connection to the state of Florida has been long and eventful. Outside of Europe, Florida ranks as the number one tourist destination for Brits. Having been that way for the last 50+ years, it’s no wonder that a lot of British citizens end up moving to the sunshine state after retiring. So much so that many famous retired British footballers now call Florida home.
Many of these famous soccer players have appeared in summer friendlies across the United States where Florida is often a regular stop. Additionally, it’s not uncommon to see plenty of British footballers playing for clubs throughout the state, such as Inter Miami, Tampa Bay Rowdies or Orlando City SC. Many of them eventually decide to live here after retiring from the sport.
British footballers who now call Florida home
The hall of fame includes (listed in alphabetical order by first name):
Alan Smith
Chris Bart-Williams
Danny Thomas
David Beckham
Derek Smethurst
Gary Bailey*
George Graham
Ian Bishop
James Phillips
John Robinson
Kevin Keelan
Mo Johnston
Nick Holmes
Peter Mellor
Peter Ward
Phil Neville
Ray Hudson
Rodney Marsh
Seb Hines
Stuart Campbell
*South African-born Gary Bailey is so intertwined with Manchester United as a former goalkeeper that it’s hard not to consider him British. Bailey also has two caps for the England national team.
Interestingly, there are many current Premier League footballers (including one of the top managers in the league) who own second homes in Florida. For the sake of privacy, we won’t mention those celebrities in this article.
While not a complete list, if there are any former British stars who aren’t mentioned above that we missed, please share them in the comments section below.
Thank you to the Brits in Florida group on Facebook for their assistance in the research for this article.
