Neil was born in Walton, Liverpool and holds the record of being the player born closest to Everton’s home stadium Goodison Park. He became vegetarian in 1970 at age 13 for ethical reasons and, 4 years later, signed as a professional footballer for his beloved Everton. After moving to Swansea City FC in 1979, Neil extended his moral stance for animals by becoming vegan in 1980. He retired from professional football in 1990 and was a vegetarian/vegan throughout his entire professional playing career. Neil was the first player on the planet to demonstrate that a vegan diet could actually be an aid to being a professional football player at the top level – he was always one of the fittest at all his clubs.
