Lou Macari and Tony Whelan awarded MBEs in King's Birthday Honours for services to football and charity

Former Manchester United forward Lou Macari and long-serving academy coach Tony Whelan have both been awarded MBEs in the King’s Birthday Honours, recognising their contributions to football and the wider community.

Macari, a Scotland international who played for Celtic and Manchester United before managing Stoke City across two spells between 1991 and 1997, founded the Macari Foundation in 2016 after witnessing the scale of homelessness in Stoke-on-Trent. The charity has since become a significant force in the city, providing shelter and food to some of its most vulnerable residents.

Speaking to the Press Association, Macari described the moment that prompted him to act. “It all started when I saw six homeless people in a doorway in Stoke on a cold winter’s night and went over to speak to them,” he said. “I told them I would try to help them, I went to the council, got the keys to a property they had repossessed, and quite simply that was the start of it all. Hopefully this honour will help increase awareness because although we are still trying and having some success, none of us have found a way to get rid of the problem.”

Calls for Macari to receive formal recognition had been growing for some time. Stoke City legend Mike Pejic had previously said: “The work Lou has done in our city for the homeless is extraordinary. He is not just a figurehead for a brilliant organisation, he is the machine, an incredible one-man force of nature.”

Whelan’s honour recognises a different kind of legacy — one built entirely within the walls of Carrington. After coming through United’s youth ranks as a player in the late 1960s and early 1970s, he returned to the club in 1990 and spent 34 years shaping its academy. Known affectionately as “The Godfather”, Whelan served as Head of Academy Coaching among other senior roles, helping oversee the development of 97 academy graduates who went on to make their first-team debuts. He retired at the end of 2024.

Macari’s inclusion in the Birthday Honours comes after fellow United icon Gordon Hill publicly called for his recognition in 2024, arguing that Macari’s charitable impact outweighed the contributions of others who had already been honoured. The two MBEs are among 35 sports figures named in this year’s list.