conventional long name	Republic of Botswana ''Lefatshe la Botswana''
common name	Botswana
image coat	Arms of Botswana.svg
map caption
national motto	''Pula'' (Rain)
national anthem	''Fatshe leno la rona'' (''This Land of Ours'')
official languages	English, Setswana
demonym	Batswana
capital	Gaborone
latns	S
longew	E
largest city	capital
government type	Parliamentary republic
leader title1	President
leader name1	Ian Khama
leader title2	Vice President
leader name2	Mompati Merafhe
sovereignty type	Independence
established event1	from the United Kingdom
established date1	30 September 1966
area rank	47th
area magnitude	1 E11
area km2	581,730
area sq mi	224,610
percent water	2.6
population estimate	2,029,307
population estimate rank	144th
population estimate year	2010
population census	1,680,863
population census year	2001
population density km2	3.4
population density sq mi	8.9
population density rank	229th
gdp ppp	$28.491 billion
gdp ppp year	2010
gdp ppp per capita	$15,489
gdp nominal	$14.030 billion
gdp nominal year	2010
gdp nominal per capita	$7,627
hdi	0.633
hdi rank	98th
hdi year	2010
hdi category	medium
gini	63
gini year	1993
gini category	high
currency	Pula
currency code	BWP
time zone	Central Africa Time (UTC+02)
time zone dst	not observed
drives on	left
cctld	.bw
calling code	+267
footnotes	}}

Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana (), is a country located in Southern Africa. The citizens are referred to as "Batswana" (singular: Motswana). Formerly the British protectorate of Bechuanaland, Botswana adopted its new name after becoming independent within the Commonwealth on 30 September 1966. It has held free and fair democratic elections since independence.

Botswana is flat, and up to 70% is covered by the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the south and southeast, Namibia to the west and north, and Zimbabwe to the northeast. It meets Zambia at a single point.

A mid-sized, landlocked country of just over two million people, Botswana was one of the poorest countries in Africa when it gained independence from Britain in 1966, with a GDP per capita of about US$70. Botswana has transformed itself, becoming one of the fastest-growing economies in the world to a GDP (purchasing power parity) per capita of about $14,800 (2010 IMF estimate). The country also has a strong tradition as a representative democracy.

History

In the 19th century, hostilities broke out between Tswana inhabitants of Botswana and Ndebele tribes who were making incursions into the territory from the north-east. Tensions also escalated with the Boer settlers from the Transvaal to the east. After appeals by the Batswana leaders Khama III, Bathoen and Sebele for assistance, the British Government put "Bechuanaland" under its protection on 31 March 1885. The northern territory remained under direct administration as the Bechuanaland Protectorate and is modern-day Botswana, while the southern territory became part of the Cape Colony and is now part of the northwest province of South Africa. The majority of Setswana-speaking people today live in South Africa.

When the Union of South Africa was formed in 1910 out of the main British colonies in the region, the Bechuanaland Protectorate, Basutoland (now Lesotho) and Swaziland (the "High Commission Territories") were not included, but provision was made for their later incorporation. However, a vague undertaking was given to consult their inhabitants, and although successive South African governments sought to have the territories transferred, Britain kept delaying; consequently, it never occurred. The election of the Nationalist government in 1948, which instituted apartheid, and South Africa's withdrawal from the Commonwealth in 1961, ended any prospect of incorporation of the territories into South Africa.

An expansion of British central authority and the evolution of tribal government resulted in the 1920 establishment of two advisory councils to represent both Africans and Europeans. Proclamations in 1934 regularized tribal rule and powers. A European-African advisory council was formed in 1951, and the 1961 constitution established a consultative legislative council.

In June 1964, Britain accepted proposals for a democratic self-government in Botswana. The seat of government was moved in 1965 from Mafikeng in South Africa, to the newly established Gaborone, which sits near its border. The 1965 constitution led to the first general elections and to independence on 30 September 1966. Seretse Khama, a leader in the independence movement and the legitimate claimant to the Ngwato chiefship, was elected as the first president, re-elected twice.

The presidency passed to the sitting vice president, Quett Masire, who was elected in his own right in 1984 and re-elected in 1989 and 1994. Masire retired from office in 1998. The presidency passed to the sitting vice president, Festus Mogae, who was elected in his own right in 1999 and re-elected in 2004. The presidency passed in 2008 to Ian Khama (son of the first president), who resigned his position as leader of the Botswana Defence Force to take up this civilian role.

A long-running dispute over the northern border with Namibia's Caprivi Strip was the subject of a ruling by the International Court of Justice in December 1999, which ruled that Kasikili Island belongs to Botswana.

Politics and government

The politics of Botswana take place in a framework of a representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Botswana is both head of state and head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Parliament of Botswana. The most recent election, its tenth, was held on 16 October 2009.

Since independence was declared, the party system has been dominated by the Botswana Democratic Party. The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. According to Transparency International, Botswana is the least corrupt country in Africa and ranks similarly close to Portugal and South Korea. The national anthem is Fatshe leno la rona.

Administrative divisions

Botswana is divided into 16 districts – 10 rural districts and 6 urban districts. #Central District #Ghanzi District #Kgalagadi District #Kgatleng District #Kweneng District #North-East District #Ngamiland District #South-East District #Southern District #Chobe District

Geography and environment

At Botswana is the world's 47th-largest country (after Ukraine). It is comparable in size to Madagascar, and is slightly smaller than the U.S. state of Texas or the Canadian province of Manitoba. It lies between latitudes 17° and 27°S, and longitudes 20° and 30°E.

The country is predominantly flat, tending toward gently rolling tableland. Botswana is dominated by the Kalahari Desert, which covers up to 70% of its land surface. The Okavango Delta, the world's largest inland delta, is in the northwest. The Makgadikgadi Pan, a large salt pan, lies in the north.

The Limpopo River Basin, the major landform of all of southern Africa, lies partly in Botswana, in the southeast of the country. The Chobe River lies to the north, providing a boundary between Botswana and Namibia (Caprivi Region). The Chobe River meets with the Zambezi River at a place called Kazungula (meaning a small sausage tree, a point where Sebitwane and his Makololo tribe crossed the Zambezi into Zambia).

Botswana has diverse areas of wildlife habitat. In addition to the delta and desert areas, there are grasslands and savannas, where Blue Wildebeest, antelopes, and other mammals and birds are found. Northern Botswana has one of the few remaining large populations of the endangered African Wild Dog. Chobe National Park, found in the Chobe District, has the world's largest concentration of African elephants. The park covers about and supports about 350 species of birds. The Chobe National Park and Moremi Game Reserve (in the Okavango Delta) are major tourist destinations. Other reserves include the Central Kalahari Game Reserve located in the Kalahari desert in Ghanzi District; Makgadikgadi Pans National Park and Nxai Pan National Park are in Central District in the Makgadikgadi Pan. Mashatu Game Reserve is privately owned: located where the Shashe River and Limpopo River meet in eastern Botswana. The other privately owned reserve is Mokolodi Nature Reserve near Gaborone. There are also specialised sanctuaries like the Khama Rhino Sanctuary (for Rhinoceros) and Makgadikgadi Sanctuary (for Flamingos). They are both located in Central District.

Environmental problems

Botswana is currently facing two major environmental problems: drought and desertification. The desertification problems predominantly stem from the severe times of drought in the country. Due to the drought, 75% of the country’s human and animal populations are dependent on groundwater. Groundwater use has eased the effects of drought, but has left a toll on the land. Groundwater is retrieved through drilling deep boreholes, which leads to the erosion of the land. Surface water is very scarce in Botswana and less than 5% of the agriculture in the country is sustainable by rainfall. Due to this 95% of the country raises cattle and livestock as a means for an income. Therefore, it is not a surprise to see that 71% of the country’s land is used for communal grazing, which has been a major cause for the desertification of the country.

Since raising livestock has proven to be profitable for the people of Botswana, the land is continuing to be exploited. The animal populations have continued to dramatically increase. From 1966 to 1991 the livestock population has increased from 1.7 million to 5.5 million. Similarly, the human population has increased from 574,000 in 1971 to 1.5 million in 1995, nearly a 200% increase. “Over 50% of all households in Botswana own cattle, which is presently the largest single source of rural income”. “Rangeland degradation or desertification is regarded as the reduction in land productivity as a result of overstocking and overgrazing or as a result of veld product gathering for commercial use. Degradation is exacerbated by the effects of drought and climate change”. It has been reported that the Okavango Delta is drying up due to the increased grazing of livestock. The Okavango Delta is one of the major semi-forested wetlands in Botswana, the largest inland delta in the world and is a crucial ecosystem to the survival of many animals.

The Department and Forestry and Range Resources has already begun to implement project to reintroduce indigenous vegetation into communities in Kgalagadi South, Kweneng North and Boteti. Reintroduction of indigenous vegetation will help with the degradation of the land. The United States Government has also entered into an agreement with Botswana, giving them $7 million US dollars to reduce Botswana’s debt by $8.3 million US dollars. The stipulation of the US reducing Botswana’s debt is that Botswana will focus on more extensive conservation of the land.

The United Nations Development Programme claims that a major problem behind the overexploitation of resources, including land, in Botswana, is due to the poverty level. To help change this the UNDP joined in with a project started in the southern community of Struizendam in Botswana. The purpose of the project is to draw from “indigenous knowledge and traditional land management systems”. The leaders of this movement are supposed to be the people in the community, in order to draw these in, in turn increasing their possibilities to earn an income and thus decreasing poverty. The UNDP also stated that the government has to effectively implement policies to allow people to manage their own local resources and are giving the government information to help with policy development

Defence

At the time of independence Botswana had no armed forces. It was only after attacks from the Rhodesian and South African armies that the Botswana Defence Force (BDF) was formed in self-defence in 1977. The president is commander in chief and appoints a defence council. The BDF has approximately 12,000 members.

Following political changes in South Africa and the region, the BDF's missions have increasingly focused on prevention of poaching, preparing for disasters, and foreign peacekeeping. The United States has been the largest single foreign contributor to the development of the BDF, and a large segment of its officer corps has received U.S. training. It is considered an apolitical and professional institution.

Economy

Since independence, Botswana has had one of the fastest growth rates in per capita income in the world. Botswana has transformed itself from one of the poorest countries in the world to a middle-income country. By one estimate, it has the fourth highest gross national income at purchasing power parity in Africa, giving it a standard of living around that of Mexico and Turkey.

According to the International Monetary Fund, economic growth averaged over 9% per year from 1966 to 1999. Botswana has a high level of economic freedom compared to other African countries. The government has maintained a sound fiscal policy, despite consecutive budget deficits in 2002 and 2003, and a negligible level of foreign debt. It earned the highest sovereign credit rating in Africa and has stockpiled foreign exchange reserves (over $7 billion in 2005/2006) amounting to almost two and a half years of current imports.

Debswana, the largest diamond mining company operating in Botswana, is 50% owned by the government. Mineral industry provides about 40% of all government revenues. In 2007, significant quantities of uranium were discovered, and mining is projected to begin by 2010. Several international mining corporations have established regional headquarters in Botswana, and prospected for diamonds, gold, uranium, copper, and even oil, many coming back with positive results. Government announced in early 2009, that they would try and shift their economic dependence on diamonds, over serious concern that diamonds are predicted to dry out in Botswana over the next twenty years.

An array of financial institutions populates the country’s financial system, with pension funds and commercial banks being the two most important segments by asset size. Banks remain profitable, well-capitalized, and liquid, as a result of growing national resources and high interest rates.

Botswana’s competitive banking system is one of Africa’s most advanced. Generally adhering to global standards in the transparency of financial policies and banking supervision, the financial sector provides ample access to credit for entrepreneurs. The opening of Capital Bank in 2008 brought the total number of licensed banks to eight. The government is involved in banking through state-owned financial institutions and a special financial incentives program that is aimed at increasing Botswana’s status as a financial centre. Credit is allocated on market terms, although the government provides subsidized loans. Reform of non-bank financial institutions has continued in recent years, notably through the establishment of a single financial regulatory agency that provides more effective supervision. The government has abolished exchange controls, and with the resulting creation of new portfolio investment options, the Botswana Stock Exchange is growing.

The constitution prohibits the nationalization of private property and provides for an independent judiciary, and the government respects this in practice. The legal system is sufficient to conduct secure commercial dealings, although a serious and growing backlog of cases prevents timely trials. The protection of intellectual property rights has improved significantly. Botswana is ranked second only to South Africa among sub-Saharan Africa countries in the 2009 International Property Rights Index.

While generally open to foreign participation in its economy, Botswana reserves a number of sectors for citizen participation. Increased foreign investment plays a significant role in the privatization of state-owned enterprises. Investment regulations are transparent, and bureaucratic procedures are streamlined and open, although somewhat slow. Investment returns such as profits and dividends, debt service, capital gains, returns on intellectual property, royalties, franchise fees, and service fees can be repatriated without limits.

Demographics

Botswana's main ethnic groups are Batswana, BaKalanga, Bushmen or AbaThwa also known as Basarwa. Other tribes are Bayei, Bambukushu, Basubia, Baherero and Bakgalagadi. Other groups of ethnicities in Botswana include whites and Indians, both groups being roughly equally small in number. Botswana's Indian population is made up of many Indian-Africans of several generations, from Mozambique, Kenya, Tanzania, Mauritius, South Africa, and so on, as well as first generation Indian immigrants. The white population is native to Botswana or from other parts of Africa including Zimbabwe and South Africa. The white population speaks either English or Afrikaans and makes up roughly 3% of the population.

Since 2000, because of deteriorating economic conditions in Zimbabwe, the number of Zimbabweans in Botswana has risen into the tens of thousands.

Fewer than 10,000 Bushmen are still living the traditional hunter-gatherer style of life. Since the mid-1990s the central government of Botswana has been trying to move San out of their lands. The UN's top official on indigenous rights, Prof. James Anaya, has condemned Botswana's persecution of the Bushmen in a report released in February 2010.

Language

The official language of Botswana is English although Setswana is widely spoken across the country. In Setswana prefixes are more important than they are in many other languages. These prefixes include "Bo", which refers to the country, "Ba", which refers to the people, "Mo", which is one person, and "Se" which is the language. For example, the main tribe of Botswana is the Tswana people, hence the name Botswana for its country. The people as a whole are Batswana, one person is a Motswana, and the language they speak is Setswana.

Religion

{{bar box |title=Religion in Botswana |titlebar=#ddd |left1=religion |right1=percent |float=right |bars= }}

An estimated 70 percent of the country's citizens identify themselves as Christians. Anglicans, Methodists, and the United Congregational Church of Southern Africa make up the majority of Christians. There are also congregations of Lutherans, Roman Catholics, Seventh-day Adventists, Baptists, the Dutch Reformed Church, Mennonites, Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other Christian sects.

According to the 2001 census, the country's Muslim community, primarily of South Asian origin, numbers slightly more than 5,000. The 2001 census also lists approximately 3,000 Hindus and 700 Baha'is. Approximately 20 percent of citizens espouse no religion. Religious services are well attended in both rural and urban areas.

Health

Life expectancy at birth was 55 in 2009 according to the World Bank, having previously fallen from a peak of 64.1 in 1990 to a low of 49 in 2002.

HIV/AIDS

Like elsewhere in the Sub-Saharan Africa, the economic impact of AIDS is considerable. Economic development spending was cut by 10% in 2002–3 as a result of recurring budget deficits and rising expenditure on healthcare services. Botswana has been hit very hard by the AIDS pandemic; in 2006 it was estimated that life expectancy at birth had dropped from 65 to 35 years.

The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Botswana was estimated at 24% for adults in 2006. In 2003, the government began a comprehensive program involving free or cheap generic anti-retroviral drugs as well as an information campaign designed to stop the spread of the virus. The promiscuous nature of many sexual relationships further impacts the health situation; so much so that it has given rise to a Love Vocabulary that is unique to the region.

Approximately one in six Batswana has HIV, giving Botswana the second highest infection rate in the world after nearby Swaziland. The government recognizes that AIDS will affect the economy and is trying to combat the epidemic, including free anti-retroviral drug treatment and a nation-wide Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission program. Botswana has reduced HIV transmission from infected mothers to their children from about 40% to just 4%.

Cancer

The Cancer Association of Botswana is a voluntary non-governmental organization. The association is a member of the Union for International Cancer Control. The Association supplements existing services through provision of cancer prevention and health awareness programmes, facilitating access to health services for cancer patients and offering support and counseling to those affected.

Education

Botswana has made great strides in educational development since independence in 1966. At that time there were very few graduates in the country and only a very small percentage of the population attended secondary school. Botswana increased its adult literacy rate from 69% in 1991 to 83% in 2008.

With the discovery of diamonds and the increase in government revenue that this brought, there was a huge increase in educational provision in the country. All students were guaranteed ten years of basic education, leading to a Junior Certificate qualification. Approximately half of the school population attends a further two years of secondary schooling leading to the award of the Botswana General Certificate of Secondary Education (BGCSE). Secondary education in Botswana is neither free nor compulsory.

After leaving school, students can attend one of the six technical colleges in the country, or take vocational training courses in teaching or nursing. The best students enter the University of Botswana, Botswana College of Agriculture , and The Botswana Accountancy College in Gaborone. Many other students end up in the numerous private tertiary education colleges around the country. A high majority of these students are government sponsored. A larger influx of tertiary students is expected when construction of the nation's second international university, The Botswana International University of Science and Technology, is completed in Palapye.

One notable International University is Limkokwing University of Creative Technology that offers various Associate Degree(s) in Creative Arts. This has helped many youths develop and create their own businesses across the country.

The quantitative gains have not always been matched by qualitative ones. Primary schools in particular still lack resources, and the teachers are less well paid than their secondary school colleagues. The Botswana Ministry of Education is working to establish libraries in primary schools in partnership with the African Library Project. The Government of Botswana hopes that by investing a large part of national income in education, the country will become less dependent on diamonds for its economic survival, and less dependent on expatriates for its skilled workers. Botswana invests 21% of its government spending in education.

In January 2006, Botswana announced the reintroduction of school fees after two decades of free state education though the government still provides full scholarships with living expenses to any Botswana citizen in university, either at the University of Botswana or if the student wishes to pursue an education in any field not offered locally, such as medicine, they are provided with a full scholarship to study abroad.

Sports

Football is the most popular sport in Botswana. Other popular sports are cricket, tennis, rugby, softball, handball, golf and track and field. Botswana is an associate member of the International Cricket Council.

Botswana has yet to win a medal at the Olympics, but in 2011 Amantle Montsho became world champion in the 400 metres and won Botswanas first athletics medal on world level. Another famous Botswana athlete is high jumper Kabelo Kgosiemang, three times African champion.

The card game bridge has a strong following; it was first played in Botswana over 30 years ago and grew in popularity during the 1980s. Many British expatriate school teachers informally taught the game in Botswana’s secondary schools. The Botswana Bridge Federation (BBF) was founded in 1988 and continues to organize tournaments. Bridge has remained popular and the BBF has over 800 members. In 2007, the BBF invited the English Bridge Union to host a week-long teaching program in May 2008.

Culture

Besides referring to the language of the dominant people groups in Botswana, Setswana is the adjective used to describe the rich cultural traditions of the Batswana-whether construed as members of the Tswana ethnic groups or of all citizens of Botswana. The Scottish writer, Alexander McCall Smith, has written a number of popular novels (No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency series) about Botswana that entertain as well as inform the reader about the culture and customs of Botswana.

Music

Tswana music is mostly vocal and performed without drums; it also makes heavy use of string instruments. Tswana folk music has instruments such as Setinkane, Segankure/Segaba, and for the last few decades, the guitar has been celebrated as a versatile music instrument for Tswana music.

Visual arts

In the northern part of Botswana, women in the villages of Etsha and Gumare are noted for their skill at crafting baskets from Mokola Palm and local dyes. The baskets are generally woven into three types: large, lidded baskets used for storage, large, open baskets for carrying objects on the head or for winnowing threshed grain, and smaller plates for winnowing pounded grain. The artistry of these baskets is being steadily enhanced through color use and improved designs as they are increasingly produced for commercial use.

Other notable artistic communities include Thamaga Pottery and Oodi Weavers, both located in the southeastern part of Botswana.

The oldest paintings from both Botswana and South Africa depict hunting, animal and human figures, and were made by the Khoisan (!Kung San/Bushmen) over twenty thousand years ago within the Kalahari desert.

In addition to these more traditional arts there are a number of extremely talented artists who use modern means to express themselves. There are a few galleries around Botswana that display paintings and sculptures. Some pieces are inspired by the beautiful Botswana landscapes and others by the people themselves.

Cuisine

The cuisine of Botswana is unique but also shares some characteristics with other cuisine of Southern Africa. Examples of Botswana food are Pap, Boerewors, Samp, Vetkoek and Mopane worms. A food unique to Botswana includes Seswaa, heavily salted mashed-up meat.

Holidays

Date!!English name!!Local name
1 January	New Year's Day	''Ngwaga o mosha'''"Gole dzwa in kalanga"
2 January	Public Holiday
rowspan="2"	''varies''	Good Friday	''Labotlhano yo o molemo'
Easter Monday
''varies''	Ascension Day	''Tlhatlogo''
1 July	Seretse Khama>Sir Seretse Khama Day
19 July	Presidents' Day (Botswana)>President's Day
20 July	Public Holiday
30 September	Independence Day
25 December	Christmas
26 December/27 December	Boxing Day

See also

Communications in Botswana

Cuisine of Botswana

Postage stamps and postal history of Bechuanaland Protectorate

Transport in Botswana

Tuli block

Notes and references

Further reading

.

Alexander McCall Smith: "The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency" series.

Michael Stanley: A Carrion Death – part of the Detective Kubu series

External links

http://www.botswanaportal.com

Category:African countries Category:Bantu countries and territories Category:English-speaking countries and territories Category:Landlocked countries Category:Liberal democracies Category:Member states of the African Union Category:Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations Category:Republics Category:States and territories established in 1966 Category:Member states of the United Nations

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name	Andrew Daddo
birth date	18 February 1967
birth place	Australia
website	http://www.andrewdaddo.com/ }}

Andrew Daddo (born 18 February 1967) is an Australian actor, author and television personality.

Andrew has been a long time presenter on the Seven Network in Australia and has been involved in hosting many Seven specials. He hosted ''World's Greatest Commercials'', which ran from 1995–1996 (and also had occasional Cannes Film Festival specials until the late 1990s) as well as the Australian adaptation of ''Kids Say the Darndest Things''. Daddo is one of the travellers on the ''Globe Trekker'' series, and is also the author of a number of children's books. He is currently a presenter on Seven's ''The Great Outdoors''. During the 2000 Sydney Olympics, Daddo co-hosted ''Olympic Sunrise'' with Johanna Griggs. American audiences might remember Andrew Daddo from a stint as an MTV VJ in the early 1990s. During the 2008 Beijing Olympics he hosted an Olympics-oriented morning talk show, ''Yum Cha''.

Daddo is married to Jacqui and has three children, Felix, Anouk Bibi and Jasper. He is part of a prominent acting family, including brothers Lochie and Cameron. He has a twin brother, artist, Jamie Daddo.

He is also a well known author, having written many books including ''Flushed'', ''Good Night Me'', ''Youse Two'', ''It's All Good'', ''Muffin Top'', ''Sprung Again'', ''You're Dropped'', ''Dacked'' and a few other novels.

Andrew was appointed as presenter of Sydney's ABC 702 radio evening program, he commenced this position in February 2008. Andrew Daddo is the host of the television series The One which premiered on the Seven Network in July, 2008.

In May 2009, Daddo resigned from Sydney's ABC 702 to host ''This Afternoon'' on the Nine Network. After just two and a half weeks on air, however, ''This Afternoon'' was axed by Nine. He has since kept occupied recording voice-overs for Nine's new series ''The Apprentice Australia''.

Like many other Cornish families with surnames ending in the letter ''O'', the Daddo's have believed it to be of Spanish origin. This however has been disproved by the fact that such names were recorded in Cornwall from medieval times. The name Daddo actually means either a diminutive form of David, or from the Cornish language ''Da'' meaning "Good".

References

External links

Andrew Daddo.com

globetrekker.de – Andrew Daddo

Category:1967 births Category:Living people Category:Australian television actors Category:Australian television presenters Category:Australian people of Cornish descent Category:Australian people of Italian descent

playername	Ian Wright
fullname	Ian Edward Wright
dateofbirth	November 03, 1963
cityofbirth	Woolwich, London
countryofbirth	England
position	Striker
years1	1985–1991
years2	1991–1998
years3	1998–1999
years4	1999
years5	1999–2000
years6	2000
clubs1	Crystal Palace
clubs2	Arsenal
clubs3	West Ham United
clubs4	→ Nottingham Forest (loan)
clubs5	Celtic
clubs6	Burnley
caps1	225
goals1	90
caps2	221
goals2	128
caps3	22
goals3	9
caps4	10
goals4	5
caps5	8
goals5	3
caps6	15
goals6	4
totalcaps	501
totalgoals	239
nationalyears1	1989–1992
nationalyears2	1991–1998
nationalteam1	England B
nationalteam2	England
nationalcaps1	3
nationalgoals1	0
nationalcaps2	33
nationalgoals2	9 }}

Ian Edward Wright, MBE is a retired English footballer turned television and radio personality.

Wright enjoyed success with London clubs Crystal Palace and Arsenal, spending six years with the former and seven years with the latter. With Arsenal he has lifted the Premier League title and both major domestic trophies, and the European Cup Winners Cup. He played 581 league games, scoring 387 goals for seven clubs in Scotland and England and earned 33 caps for the English national team.

After retiring from the game he has been active in the media, usually in football related TV and radio shows. His sons, Shaun and Bradley Wright-Phillips, are both professional footballers.

Early life

Wright came to professional football relatively late. Despite having had trials at Southend United and Brighton during his teens, he was unable to attract sufficient interest to win a professional contract offer. Reverting to playing for amateur and non-league teams, he was left disillusioned about his chances of a career as a professional footballer.

He spent two weeks in Chelmsford Prison for driving without tax or insurance.

Club career

Crystal Palace

A Crystal Palace talent scout, Peter Prentice, happened to see Wright playing for Dulwich Hamlet and invited him to have a trial at Selhurst Park. Having impressed then-manager Steve Coppell, he signed professional terms for Crystal Palace in August 1985, just three months short of his 22nd birthday.

He quickly made his mark in his first season, scoring nine goals to finish as Palace's second-highest scorer. When Mark Bright arrived on the Palace scene the following year the duo soon established a successful striking partnership and it was largely their goals which took the club to top flight via the playoffs in 1989. Wright was particularly instrumental that season, scoring 24 goals in the Second Division and a grand total of 33 in all competitions.

Wright was called up for England B duty in December 1989 but a twice-cracked shin bone reduced his initial impact in the First Division. However, after recovering from the injury he made a dramatic appearance as a 'super-sub', in the 1990 FA Cup Final against Manchester United. He equalised for Palace a few minutes after coming onto the field forcing extra time, then putting them ahead in extra time. The eventual score was 3–3, but Palace lost the replay 1–0.

The next season he gained full international honours, and reached a hundred goals for Crystal Palace. He scored twice as Palace beat Everton to win the Zenith Data Systems Cup at Wembley. Wright became renowned for his deadly striking ability, as shown when he scored a hat-trick in just eighteen minutes in Palace's penultimate game of the 1990–91 season away to Wimbledon.

Wright scored 117 goals in 253 starts and 24 substitute appearances over six seasons for The Eagles in all competitions, making him the club's record post-war goalscorer and third on the all-time list. In 2005, he was voted into their Centenary XI and was named as their "Player of The Century".

Arsenal

Wright signed for Arsenal in September 1991 for £2.5 million, which was at the time a club record fee. He scored on his debut against Leicester City in a League Cup tie, and then scored a hat-trick on his League debut against Southampton. He won the Golden Boot in his first season by scoring 29 league goals, five of which were for Palace, and 31 in all competitions. He scored a hat-trick in the final game of the season against Southampton; his third goal being the last ever scored in the old First Division. As of 2007, only Wright and Teddy Sheringham (1992–93 season) have won the top-flight goalscoring award having scored for two different clubs during the season in question.

Wright went on to be the club's top scorer for six seasons in a row. He played a major part in the club's success during the 1990s, winning an FA Cup and League Cup double in 1993; he scored in both the FA Cup Final and the replay against Sheffield Wednesday. Wright also helped Arsenal reach the 1994 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup Final, although Wright was suspended for the final in which Arsenal beat Parma 1–0. That season they finished fourth in the Premier League.

Wright scored in every round but the final of Arsenal's 1995 Cup Winners' Cup campaign, and was a strong goalscorer in the Premier League, but it was a difficult time for Arsenal following the dismissal of manager George Graham over illegal payments, and under caretaker Stewart Houston they could only manage a 12th place finish in the league.

The arrival of Bruce Rioch heralded a bleaker time; the two did not get on and eventually Wright handed in a transfer request (which he later retracted). The arrival of Dennis Bergkamp, however, heralded a brief but fruitful striking partnership, and in their first season as a partnership they helped Arsenal finish fifth in the league and qualify for the UEFA Cup. They also reached the Coca-Cola Cup semi-finals, where they went out on away goals to eventual winners Aston Villa.

By the time Arsène Wenger had arrived at Arsenal in September 1996, Wright was nearly 33. Despite his age, he continued to score regularly (being the second highest Premier League scorer in 1996–97 with 23 goals), and on 13 September 1997 he broke Cliff Bastin's Arsenal goalscoring record with a hat-trick against Bolton Wanderers (a record since surpassed by Thierry Henry in October 2005). A couple of months later he suffered a bad hamstring injury which ruled him out of the club's run-in to a League and Cup Double; Wright was named as a substitute in the cup final against Newcastle United but did not play.

Wright scored a total of 185 goals for Arsenal in 279 starts and 9 substitute appearances. His final goal at Highbury came on 4 October 1997 against Barnsley and was his 300th career goal for both Crystal Palace and Arsenal. He scored his final goal for Arsenal on 6 January 1998 in a League Cup quarter-final victory against West Ham United at the Boleyn Ground. In his absence, Arsenal were eliminated from the League Cup in the semi-final by Chelsea, ending their hopes of a unique domestic treble.

On 15 July 2008, he finished 4th in 50 Greatest Gunners listed on the Arsenal website.

Later career

In July 1998, Wright moved to West Ham United for £500,000. He spent fifteen months as a West Ham player without reaching the same form he had at Arsenal. During his spell there he made the headlines for all the wrong reasons when he vandalised the referee's dressing room at Upton Park after being sent off during a match against Leeds United. He had subsequent short spells at Nottingham Forest, Celtic, and Burnley (whom he helped to promotion to Division One) before retiring in 2000. He finished his club career with 313 goals in all competitions.

International career

Wright was handed his England debut by manager Graham Taylor in February 1991. He started in the 2–0 victory against Cameroon at Wembley and helped England reach the finals of Euro 1992 in Sweden. Despite the fact that his international career spanned eight years, 87 matches and three different full-time managers, he only started 17 times and was a used substitute in 16 matches. In each of the seven seasons that followed the 1990 World Cup, Wright never scored fewer than 23 goals a season for his club. He scored 25 goals for Crystal Palace during 1991 before going on to break the 30 club-goal barrier five times in the following six seasons. Despite Wright's goalscoring feats, the most number of games he started for England consecutively was three—something he only did twice.

Taylor, who became England manager after the 1990 World Cup in Italy and remained in charge for 38 matches, only handed Wright nine starts and seven substitute appearances. He opted instead to use a whole host of less prolific strikers, including Nigel Clough of Nottingham Forest, Paul Stewart of Tottenham Hotspur,v David Hirst of Sheffield Wednesday and Brian Deane of Sheffield United. Wright did not make it into the squad for Euro 1992 at the expense of Clough, Gary Lineker of Tottenham Hotspur, Alan Shearer of Southampton and Arsenal team mate Alan Smith. This was particularly surprising as Wright had been the highest top division goalscorer in England that season.

Five of Wright's nine international goals were scored under Taylor's management. These included a vital late equaliser in a 1–1 away draw against Poland in May 1993 and four goals in the 7–1 away win against San Marino in Bologna, Italy, in November 1993, the final match of Taylor's reign as manager. Both matches were qualifiers for the 1994 World Cup in the USA, for which England failed to qualify for the first time since 1978.

Terry Venables replaced Taylor as manager after the unsuccessful 1994 World Cup qualifying campaign but Wright's appearances in the side became even more limited. Despite featuring in four of the first five matches under Venables, albeit three times as a substitute, Wright never played under his management again. Ultimately, it cost Wright a place in the squad for Euro 1996, where England reached the semi-finals as the host nation. Venables vacated his position as England manager after the tournament and was replaced by Glenn Hoddle.

After being in international exile for 21 consecutive matches, Wright was recalled to the England team by Hoddle in November 1996 when he came off the bench in a 2–0 1998 World Cup qualifying victory in Georgia. It had been over two years since Wright had made his previous England appearance in October 1994.

Four of Wright's nine international goals were scored under Hoddle's management, including the winner in a 2–1 friendly win against South Africa at Old Trafford in May 1997, and the opener a month later in a 2–0 victory over Italy in the Tournoi de France. England won the four-team tournament, staged as a warm-up event to the 1998 World Cup in France, which also included world champions Brazil as well as the hosts.

Wright went on to help England qualify for the 1998 World Cup by scoring two goals in the 4–0 qualifying campaign victory against Moldova at Wembley in September 1997, before producing arguably his best performance for his country in the vital 0–0 draw in Italy, a month later, which secured his country's passage through to the finals. He missed out on the finals, however, with a recurrence of the hamstring injury which had ruled him out for much of Arsenal's double-winning campaign.

Following the 1998 World Cup, Wright went on to play a further two times for England as a West Ham player. He came on as a substitute in the Euro 2000 qualifier in Luxembourg, a match England won 3–0 in October 1998. He made his final international appearance, a month later, in a friendly against the Czech Republic at Wembley. England won the match 2–0 and it also turned out to be Hoddle's final game as manager.

Wright started six matches and was used as a substitute on six occasions under Hoddle, who was manager for 28 matches. He made his first appearance under Hoddle aged 33 and his final appearance under him aged 35. England went on to qualify for Euro 2000 in Belgium and the Netherlands, by which time, Wright was approaching his 37th birthday and retired from club football shortly after the tournament. Only Mick Channon played more times for England without being selected for a World Cup or European Championships squad.

Director of Football

In March 2007, Wright was appointed Director of Football Strategy of Isthmian League team, Ashford Town, and him taking his place on the Board of Directors, following his purchase of a stake in the club.

Broadcasting career

Television

Wright began his television career as a guest host on Top of the Pops. He was later signed up by ITV to present his own chat show, ''Friday Night's All Wright'', where he interviewed such showbiz greats as Elton John, Mariah Carey and Will Smith which ran for two seasons.

Since then, he has gone on to present programmes such as ''Friends Like These'', ''I'd Do Anything'', ''The National Lottery Wright Ticket'' and ''What Kids Really Think''. He took over from David Seaman in Autumn 2004 as a team captain on BBC game show ''They Think It's All Over'', which ran until 2006.

Wright has also starred in ''Men & Motors'' show ''Wright Across America'', where he fulfils a life long dream to travel coast to coast across America on a ''Harley-Davidson'' motorbike. The show is famous for Wright's rocky relationship with co-host and legendary custom bike builder ''Nicky Bootz''.

He also starred in ''Ian Wright's Excellent Adventure'' in which he travels to Greenland with a friend, 'Mrs C' (Novello Noades, wife of former Crystal Palace chairman Ron Noades), to scale the highest mountain in the Arctic, Gunnbjørn.

Wright appeared as a "celebrity hijacker" in the television series ''Big Brother: Celebrity Hijack''.

On 12 March 2008, Wright was confirmed as one of the presenters of the new series of the popular game show ''Gladiators''.

Wright was a presenter on Channel 5's early evening magazine programme ''Live from Studio Five'', from its launch in September 2009, to August 2010. He originally co-presented the show alongside, former model Melinda Messenger, and runner-up of the ''The Apprentice'', Kate Walsh.

It was announced on 29 January 2010, that Wright’s co-presenter Melinda Messenger was leaving ''Live from Studio Five'' to focus on other projects. After making her final appearance on 26 February 2010, Messenger revealed that she had left the show following a disagreement with Wright. She described their relationship as "intolerable".

Wright continued to present the show, alongside Walsh, and new presenter Jayne Middlemiss. At the beginning of the 12 August 2010 edition of ''Live from Studio Five'', Walsh and Middlemiss announced that Wright would not be presenting the show that evening. At the end of the programme, they revealed that he had left the show, and would not be returning.

It was later revealed that Wright had been sacked from ''Live from Studio Five'', after falling out with the show's bosses, over Channel 5's summer talent show ''Don't Stop Believing''. It was reported that Wright refused to promote the show, on the early evening programme, as he was not a fan of it. Wright was also reported to be unhappy with other changes at the programme, such as its daily airtime being cut from 60 minutes to just 30 minutes.

During a radio interview with ''Absolute Radio'', the day after he was axed, Wright stated that, "It's just been arguments for the last couple of weeks." Wright's contract was due to end in September 2010, but show bosses decided not to renew it. Wright, who was reported to have not found out about his termination from the show, until just hours before he was due to arrive at the studios on Thursday 12 August, made his final appearance on Wednesday 11 August's addition of ''Live from Studio Five''. The show was axed in February 2011.

Wright presented ''Football Behind Bars'', a reality TV series aired on Sky1 about his program to socialize young men incarcerated at Portland Young Offenders Institution in Dorset by organizing them in a football academy. The program was an experiment with the prison authority with an eye to expanding it to other prisons if it was successful. The series ran 6 episodes, aired weekly from 7 September to 12 October 2009.

Radio

Wright formerly co-hosted the drivetime slot (4-7 pm) Monday to Thursday on Talksport, with Adrian Durham. In 2010 Wright joined ''Absolute Radio Rock 'N' Roll Football'' for post match analysis and hosts this on their new Digital and MW radio station Absolute Extra.

Punditry

Since his retirement from football, Wright appeared as a pundit on BBC Sport's ''International Match of the Day'' and has been a pundit for the 2002 and 2006 World Cups and Euro 2004.

On 17 April 2008, Wright quit his job on ''Match Of The Day'' and criticised the programme for using him as a "comedy jester", saying "Fans want people who are dressed like them. They've got no one to relate to on TV and that's why I've said to them I don't want to do the England games any more."

Commercials

Wright has appeared in television commercials for the chicken sauce, Chicken Tonight and Ladbrokes along with Chris Kamara, Ally McCoist and former Arsenal team mate Lee Dixon.

He also appears in an advertisement for the Nintendo Wii console where he is playing ''Mario Strikers Charged'' and ''Wii Sports'' with his son Shaun.

Writing

While he was still a professional footballer at Arsenal, Wright published his autobiography, ''Mr Wright''. It was first published in hardback in 1996 by Collins Willow when Wright was still a professional player at Arsenal. It was then published in paperback in 1997, which included an all new updated chapter.

In 1993, Wright wrote and released a single called "Do The Right Thing". The song was co-written and produced by Chris Lowe (of Pet Shop Boys) and reached #43 in the UK Singles Chart.

Wright is also a columnist for tabloid newspaper ''The Sun''.

Personal life

Wright's adopted son Shaun Wright-Phillips currently plays for QPR and England. Shaun's half-brother Bradley Wright-Phillips, who is Ian's biological son, plays for Charlton. Ian's cousin Jermaine Wright currently plays for Lewes FC, having been released by Blackpool, while Ian's other son, Brett Wright, had a trial with Reading in September 2005 and played for their reserve team. His youngest son, Stacey, is a keen rugby player and attends Whitgift School in Croydon.

Wright is also the patron of the African-Caribbean Leukaemia Trust.

He has supported Millwall since he was a boy.

Awards

Shortly after his retirement from playing in 2000, Wright was awarded the MBE for his services to football.

Career statistics

|- |1985–86||rowspan="7"|Crystal Palace||rowspan="4"|Second Division||32||9||2||0||34||9 |- |1986–87||38||9||5||1||43||10 |- |1987–88||41||20||4||3||45||23 |- |1988–89||42||24||3||1||45||25 |- |1989–90||rowspan="4"|First Division||26||8||7||1||33||9 |- |1990–91||38||15||8||4||46||19 |- |1991–92||8||5||0||0||8||5 |- |1991–92||rowspan="7"|Arsenal||30||24||3||2||33||26 |- |1992–93||rowspan="7"|Premier League||31||15||15||15||46||30 |- |1993–94||39||23||13||11||52||34 |- |1994–95||31||18||14||12||45||30 |- |1995–96||31||15||9||8||40||23 |- |1996–97||35||23||6||7||41||30 |- |1997–98||24||10||4||1||28||11 |- |1998–99||West Ham United||22||9||1||0||23||9 |- |1999–2000||Nottingham Forest||First Division||10||5||0||0||10||5 |- |1999–2000||Celtic||Premier League||8||3||1||0||9||3 |- |1999–2000||Burnley||Second Division||15||4||0||0||15||4 493||236||94||66||587||302 8||3||1||0||9||3 501||239||95||66||596||305

Honours

;Individual

MBE: 1

:: 2002

PFA Team of the Year: 2

:: 1993, 1997

English Football Hall of Fame: 1

:: 2005

;Crystal Palace

Second Division: 1

:: 1989

Full Members Cup: 1

:: 1991

Golden Boot: 1

:: 1992

;Arsenal

Golden Boot: 1

:: 1992

FA Premier League: 1

:: 1997–98

FA Cup: 2

:: 1993, 1998

UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: 1

:: 1994

League Cup: 1

:: 1993

;England

Tournoi de France: 1

:: 1997

England Challenge Cup: 1

:: 1991

References

External links

Ian Wright Player Statistics Soccerbase

Number 8 - Ian Wright ArseWEB

Football Hall of Fame - Ian Wright National Football Museum

Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:English footballers Category:England international footballers Category:England B international footballers Category:Arsenal F.C. players Category:Burnley F.C. players Category:Celtic F.C. players Category:Crystal Palace F.C. players Category:Nottingham Forest F.C. players Category:West Ham United F.C. players Category:Premier League players Category:Scottish Premier League players Category:The Football League players Category:First Division/Premier League topscorers Category:English television presenters Category:English radio personalities Category:Members of the Order of the British Empire Category:Black English sportspeople Category:People from Woolwich Category:English Football Hall of Fame inductees Category:Black British television personalities Category:British association football commentators

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