Meet Chris Hughton, the son of a Ghanaian postman, who now coaches Brighton & Hove Albion F.C

Chris Hughton

He is already being hailed as the first Ghanaian coach in the English Premier League (EPL) by Ghanaian media; meet Ghanaian Chris Hughton. He will manage the newly promoted EPL side Brighton & Hove Albion F.C, as the team makes a comeback to the top flight after three decades.

Christopher William Gerard Hughton was born on 11 December 1958 in Forest Gate, then part of Essex, now part of London, to a Ghanaian postman, Willie Hughton, and his Irish wife Christine née Bourke.

Having an African background Chris qualified to play for the Republic of Ireland as the son of an Irish mother and a Ghanaian father, becoming the first mixed-race player to represent the country. He played 53 matches for the Irish National team.

He began his football career with Tottenham Hotspur as a left back and made his debut against Manchester United.

As a member of the Tottenham’s 1980’s class, he won both the 1981 FA Cup and the 1982 FA Cup, the 1984 UEFA Cup and was runner-up in the 1982 League Cup and the 1987 FA Cup.

Chris Hughton later made a switch to West Ham United where he helped them qualify to Division Two then moved to Brentford before hanging his boots.

On 31 December 2014, Hughton was announced as the new man in charge of Championship side Brighton & Hove Albion on a three-and-a-half-year contract. Following an impressive season, he extended his contract to 2020, before architecting Brighton’s automatic promotion to the 2017–18 Premier League after a 2–1 win at home to Wigan.

Prior to the Brighton & Hove Albion job, Chris had worked with Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspurs, Birmingham City, Norwich City.

Under the leadership of Chris Hughton, Brighton & Hove Albion sealed promotion to the Premier League for this season after increasing their lead at the top of the Championship to seven points with a 2-1 win over Wigan Athletic at a jubilant Amex Stadium.