23 Jul 2025
Football legend Sir Alex Ferguson has signed a new contract - this time taking his skills off the pitch and into the charity sector.
The former Manchester United manager has become an official ambassador for leading music and dementia charity Playlist for Life following seasons of strong support through fundraising and participation in awareness raising campaigns.
Sir Alex kicked off his latest role by visiting the organisation’s office in Glasgow earlier this week to learn more about how the team delivers its work across the UK. He met with members of the board and the charity’s staff to hear how Playlist for Life improves the lives of people living with dementia using playlists of personally meaningful music.
Sir Alex Ferguson said: “Dementia is a big challenge for all of us, but we all know someone close to us who has dementia. It’s not always easy to talk about, but music is a fantastic thing that can help.
“I’m beyond proud to be an ambassador for Playlist for Life. Visiting the team and hearing more about the work they do, I can see they are leading the way in using music to transform the lives of people affected by dementia.
“Music is a fantastic thing, I’ve made a start on the playlist of my life, I recommend everyone does the same and supports this fantastic charity.”
Playlist for Life advocates for the use of personal playlists in dementia care across communities, health boards, care homes, and for families and people at home. Backed by over two decades of scientific research, its approach starts with creating and listening to a playlist of songs that make up the soundtrack to your life, tracks that take you back to special moments in your life and tunes that remind you of loved ones.
The organisation has trained almost 10,000 health and social professionals to embed personal playlists into dementia care with one team in NHS Fife reporting an 80% reduction in the use of medication used to manage symptoms for a group of people living with dementia.
Sir Alex has supported the Sally Magnusson founded charity for the majority of its 12-year lifespan with generous and highly coveted auction prizes, and appearing on national television to talk about the impact of meaningful music and dementia. Sir Alex previously shared songs that are personally meaningful to him to encourage others to think about the songs that would feature on their own ‘playlist for life’. His song selections included Moon River and Danny Boy.
Michael Timmons, Executive Director, of Playlist for Life said: “Sir Alex’s backing in this new role of Ambassador will help us reach many more people living with dementia or caring for someone living with dementia.
“We are working to embed personal playlists into dementia care in communities, hospital and care settings across the UK as standard because it’s so much more than something that’s just nice to have. Personal playlists can improve the lives of people living with dementia by helping to spark connection and reduce some of the more distressing symptoms.
“It’s a privilege to have Sir Alex Ferguson pulling on the Playlist for Life jersey as an official ambassador, following many years of quiet but generous support. During his visit to our office he seemed impressed by the team’s work and understood the importance of our approach to dementia care. We hope his support encourages more people to discover the power of personal playlists and create their own today.”
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Personal Playlist
This is the song that when I’m with my longest and dearest friends from Govan, I always sing. Only they would have the patience to listen to me!
This song has a particularly strong memory for me. When I was 17 and playing for Queen’s Park, they used to have an annual snooker competition, which I won. But when I went to receive the prize at the Annual Christmas Dance, they wouldn’t give me it unless I sang. And this was the song I sang.
The theme song from one of the greatest movies of all time. Cathy and I visited Atlanta some years ago when I was studying the American Civil War and visited the house of Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, which is part of the museum tours.
Written by a Glasgow-born man, Ewan MacColl, whose daughter was part of the duet in the famous Christmas song Fairy-tale of New York – Kirsty MacColl & Shane McGowan.
Danny Boy is one of the most sung songs in the world. There is a host of famous singers who have sung it and of course there are many different perspectives on the meaning of the song. One quite sad version is of a father taking his son to catch a train as he was heading off for war and his father was so worried for him that he forgot to give him a hug. The son never returned.
Also sung by Barbra Streisand, it was the theme song for the movie of the same name, which starred Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford.
https://www.playlistforlife.org.uk/sir-alex-fergusons-personalised-playlist/
