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England’s finest export: Gemma Atkinson or Kenny Pavey?

Kenny Pavey is a 30 year old English footballer from London who currently plays in the Sweden for the Allsvenskan club AIK Stockholm. Pavey has played for Millwall FC as a junior and ended his youth career at Sittingbourne FC, where he also made his senior level debut. A transfer to English Premier League side Aston Villa fell through in 1998 because the two clubs could not agree on a transfer fee.

Pavey moved to Swedish second division side Ljungskile SK where he remained until 2005 and then moved to AIK in October of that year. He is popular among his fans for his intensity, fearlessness and the embodiment of the ‘British bulldog’ spirit.

Unappreciated and unrecognized back home in England, Pavey is a household name in Sweden. Allsvenskan might not come up to any Englishman’s standard but the fact of the matter is, Kenneth Steven Pavey might be the finest football export from England.

Pavey has won the top flight league title, Allsvenskan, in 2009. Also in 2009, he won the main Swedish football cup called the Svenska Cupen; securing a double with AIK. On top of that, Pavey also holds the title of Supercupen 2010. Supercupen is played between the champions of the league and the cup winners.

Name another Englishman from the recent times playing abroad and winning as much as Kenny Pavey has.

Let me help you there, there aren’t any English footballers from the recent crops that can even come anywhere near Pavey’s achievements. But there is someone else who can compete with Pavey and we don’t have to go too far away from football: Marcus Bent’s ex Gemma Atkinson.

The 25 year old actress, TV personality, glamor and lingerie model rose to fame from the teenage soap Hollyoaks. Doing a number of shows on TV as an actress she also became a reality series personality and appeared in a number of reality shows.

After her breast enlargement surgery in 2006, she launched a parallel career as a glamor model. She appeared in provocative photo shoots in lingerie and swim-wear for men’s magazines such as Arena, FHM, Loaded, Maxim, Zoo and Nuts.

She has been a regular feature in FHM’s 100 Sexiest Women list since 2006. Debuting at number 32, rising to 23 in 2007, to 18 in 2008 and falling massively to 81 in 2009.

Not purely an England export but she has done enough to be recognized as an international celebrity.

Comparison:
Kenny Pavey’s contribution to enhancing England’s reputation is limited to Sweden. In an interview <a href="Pavey talks about his England call up, he said that he doubts if Fabio Capello even knows who I am. If Capello doesn’t know him, I’m sure England doesn’t either.

Whereas, the case with Gemma Atkinson is different. She might not be the most popular English celebrity (let alone the most popular celebrity) but she has definitely made a bigger mark on enhancing England’s reputation.

Well, that’s my take on the comparison. I know we can add a lot more names to it and make Pavey and Atkinson feel minuscule but you are not getting that option. Who do you think has done more to enhance England’s reputation: Gemma Atkinson or Kenny Pavey?

Before you decide, feel free to know Gemma Atkinson and Kenny Pavey better.

Topics: Football WAGs