Tony Powell comes out 40 years after retirement as documentary set to screen in England | OneFootball

Former Bournemouth and Norwich defender Tony Powell, 78, has acknowledged he is gay 40 years after his final match, with a documentary set to be shown in England.

Born in 1947 in Bristol, he turned professional at 21 with AFC Bournemouth and made 219 appearances. He joined Norwich in 1974, stayed seven years and played 275 games, winning player of the year in 1979. He later told The Guardian he kept his sexuality secret.

He did not tell his then wife or any team-mates, even though Justin Fashanu, a Norwich forward from 1978 to 1981, had disclosed his own sexuality to team-mates. Fashanu later came out publicly in 1990 and died by suicide eight years later.

In 1981 Powell left his family and two daughters to join the San Jose Earthquakes in the US. He cut ties with Europe for 35 years, believing his relatives would reject him if they learned he was gay.

After retiring in 1983, he moved to West Hollywood in Los Angeles County and became manager of the Holloway Motel. He ran it for 25 years and was its final resident before it closed in September last year.

Intrigued by the solitary figure on the motel balcony, Ramiel Petros and Nick Freeman made The Last Guest at the Holloway Motel, released in June 2025. It charts his life and his reconnection with his daughters and sisters, and he is proud of it and of their acceptance.

Source: L'Équipe