Stuart Webber is determined to push his limits outside of his job as Norwich City's sporting director as he defends his decision to climb Mount Everest for his charity.
The Welshman has begun training for the challenge of scaling all 8,849 metres of the world's tallest mountain above sea level in aid of his recently launched charity the Summit Foundation, which aims to improve the lives of disadvantaged children in Norfolk.
Given Norwich's struggles in the Premier League, some supporters have questioned the timing and been critical of Webber's decision to devote time to an extra challenge beyond his day job.
Webber categorically rejects those opinions and explains why being permitted time to complete this challenge was a key factor in deciding to remain at the club beyond this summer.
“My life isn’t to appease Norwich fans,” Webber said in an extensive interview with the Sunday Times.
“If Norwich lose on the Saturday does it ruin my next couple of days? Yes, absolutely. That pain will never leave when you lose a game but is it the only thing in my life? No.
“I’d been very clear when I signed that [earlier] contract that I’d leave in June 2022 because I wanted to have some time away.
“Delia and Michael didn’t want me to leave. So I said, ‘Listen there’s only one thing which matters to me in this negotiation, it’s not about money, titles or kudos. The only thing I want is the chance to go and achieve a dream and my dream is climbing Mount Everest. Before that I’m going to need some pockets of time off’.
“If someone wants to criticise me for doing two hours in the gym at 5.30am I’ll take that all day. If someone wants to criticise me for going on a run at 10pm, bring it on. I’d never do a climb at a time when it’s business critical.
"Some people said, ‘You did Kilimanjaro in January.’ Yes, I did, because we had zero funds to sign a player. What am I going to do? Sit in my office for 30 days? When I do Ecuador, it’s in June. When I do Mont Blanc it’s the September international break. When I do the Himalayas it’s during the World Cup.
“I also find it disrespectful to the wider staff of the club and we have an executive of six people who run this business. If I was off for ten days with Covid during January, everyone would say, ‘#hopeyougetwell’.
"I sleep easy at night because ultimately as I said to Delia and Michael, ‘If 90 per cent of me isn’t enough, it’s fine because I’m already ready to walk out the door. I’m ready for the next stage of my life.’ But they wanted me to stay and I’m incredibly grateful to them for that."
Webber is hoping to combine his climb, a long-held personal ambition, with improving the lives of children in the county.
The Summit Foundation is striving to help those suffering in food poverty, a lack of funding for education and to provide a better way for the people of tomorrow.
City's chief wants to be known for his work outside of football and explains in more depth why he has decided to dedicate a portion of his time to the challenge of scaling Everest.
“I don’t want to be known as just being a guy who has worked in football for a few years. I get introduced, even at a wedding, ‘This is Stuart, he works for Norwich City’ or ‘He used to work for Liverpool.’
"It’s like my identity is just around my job and I really dislike that. I don’t want to finish at 60, and the best years of my life have gone, just working. I want to do something else. I can’t sit still in the house. I can’t be comfortable being comfortable. It’s always been what’s next?
“Zoe said, ‘If you’re going to put your life at risk, you should do it for a cause’,” Webber says. “We have to help. Don’t turn away from social issues on your doorstep. Football is so powerful at changing society. Look at Marcus Rashford [tackling child food poverty].
“I want to show him [his son Sebastian] that you can achieve anything in life but you have to go after it, make some sacrifices, be brave,” Webber said. “If it’s just a case of staying alive, never taking any risks, I’m not sure how inspirational that is for him."
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