Leon Mann

If you haven’t already grabbed a copy of The Voice Newspaper this week – here is the Football Black List 2015!

 

The Football Black List is an initiative celebrating the contribution of African and Caribbean communities in the UK to football. However, this is not a celebration of the best footballers – instead, it highlights those achieving away from the pitch. The administrators in the boardrooms, the journalists, the coaches and managers, our leaders working at grassroots level and in the community.

 

This initiative shines a light on many unsung heroes who are very much pioneers in an industry where the black community is hugely under-represented in every area of the game – away from those playing.

 

Congratulations to all those who made the list this year. Every year more and more contenders are considered, which goes to show that progress is being made.

 

 

Before the complaints come in – and in the past, I have received many – although I am a founder of the initiative this list is always decided by a panel. In 2015, The Voice Newspaper’s sport department got together to make a call on who made it in…

 

For full breakdown on why each person made the list please check out The Voice Newspaper.

 

BLACK LIST 2015

 

MEDIA

Stephen Lyle, Commissioning Editor for Sport, Channel 4

Stan Collymore, Broadcaster – TalkSport

Jessica Creighton, Presenter – BBC Sport 

Adrian Kajumba, Football Writer – Daily Mirror

Keme Nzerem, Sports News Correspondent, Channel 4

 

ADMINISTRATION

Les Ferdinand MBE, Director of Football, QPR FC

Michael Emenalo, Technical Director – Chelsea FC

Heather Rabbatts CBE, Chair of FA Inclusion Advisory Board – The FA

Nathan Blake, Director of Football, Newport County

Bobby Barnes, Deputy Chief Executive, PFA

 

COACHING AND MANAGEMENT

Chris Ramsey, Head Coach – QPR FC

Chris Hughton, Manager, Brighton and Hove Albion

Chris Powell, Manager – Huddersfield

Jimmy Floyd Hasslebaink, Manager – Burton Albion

Keith Curle, Manager – Carlisle United

 

COMMERCIAL

Aidy Ward, Football Advisor

Mariame Diakite, Football Advisor

Wayne Lindsay, Football Advisor

Pete Smith, Football Agent

Udo Onwere, Lawyer

 

COMMUNITY

Donald Forde, Head of Crystal Palace Foundation

Lord Ouseley, Chairman – Kick It Out

Darren Smith, Development Officer, London FA

Jason Roberts, Founder – The Sports People’s Think Tank

Richard Allicock, Youth engagement officer, Tottenham Hotspur Foundation

 

PLAYERS

Yaya Toure, Manchester City and Ivory Coast

Carlton Cole, West Ham United and England

Didier Drogba, Chelsea and Ivory Coast

Rio Ferdinand, QPR and England

Eni Aluko, Chelsea Ladies and England

 

 

 

Football’s Black List will be published by The Voice Newspaper tomorrow.

 

The initiative pays tribute to members of African and Caribbean communities in the UK for their contribution to the game.

 

The list is not about achievement on the field as players – instead, it is about what happens off the pitch; in the boardrooms, dugouts, across the media, at grassroots level and in our communities.

 

The initiative is not about creating further segregation in society – or football. It’s aim is to highlight role models and encourage members from a massively under represented community to get involved in all areas of football – away from the pitch.

 

On the field more than 25% of professional footballers are black, so the community is therefore over represented and “accepted” as athletes. But off the field, it is a very different story…

 

• In November 2014, the Sports People’s Think Tank report found just 19 BAME coaches in the top 552 positions
• Less than 1% of all governance and senior administration positions at governing bodies and clubs in England are held by staff from BAME backgrounds
• Not one black sports journalist went to the World Cup in Brazil last year with a mainstream national newspaper
• In broadcasting, just one black sports presenter was involved across all major sporting events last summer in the UK

 

I could go on…

 

The Black List is a response to this ongoing situation and hopefully helps to build knowledge about different jobs in the game, while giving due respect and praise to pioneers in the various other areas of football.

 

To understand why a list celebrating black people is needed, it is essential to acknowledge a history where African and Caribbean communities have been racially abused, marginalised and purposefully excluded from society – and football. It wasn’t easy for black players, and it certainly hasn’t been easy in other areas of the game either.

 

Some have called the initiative counter productive, as they believe it encourages segregation and separatism. I strongly disagree. I founded this initiative – with Rodney Hinds from The Voice – to do the very opposite. As it challenges the lack of diversity in the football industry by promoting diverse people in roles where many within our communities may feel unwelcome.

 

Football’s Black List is a proactive initiative that aims to highlight achievement, educate and inspire.

 

For further reading on the initiative check out the following links:

http://www.farenet.org/news/english-footballs-black-list-achievers/

http://www.theguardian.com/football/blog/2009/aug/10/black-list-voice-football

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/7305569.stm

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/daily-mirror-reporter-darren-lewis-3349772

 

 

I could not resist. After BritJam and AfriBrit I had to put together a CaribBrit team – and I can already hear the groans about my team selection.

 

The truth is there are just so many British players with Caribbean roots – I could have picked five teams. No doubt, you are already scribbling down an eleven you believe would be far stronger than mine. If so, I am pleased the initiative has got you thinking about players backgrounds and achievements.

 

But as I have always stressed, as well as being a bit of fun, these teams are not about celebrating individuals. These teams are about recognizing communities.

 

Every single player in these teams represents the success of ethnic minority families and communities. The subject matter in this case is football – but it could easily be a list of doctors, lawyers, educationalist, engineers and so forth.

 

Being involved in Andrew Cole’s ITV Sports Life story reminded me that behind every success story there is often a struggle. His father came to the UK and worked as a miner to support his family. That support enabled Andrew to go on to achieve great things. It was essential to tell the nation about his father’s experience of racism and his dedication to supporting his family within the documentary, to help people understand what communities went through, and continue to do so.

 

Jermain Defoe is another I know who has benefited from the support of his family – his mother in particular – and unquestionably, every one of the players in the Carib-Brit and Afri-Brit squads will have had to overcome their own challenges.

 

Let us never forget to thank those who fought for the opportunities we have today.

 

 – Disagree with my team selection? Tweet me @Leon_Mann and I’ll get back to you!

 

 

The first ever guide to addressing the lack of diversity in the sports media has been launched by the Black Collective Of Media In Sport (BCOMS) – a network of sports journalists from African and Caribbean communities.

 

Funded by FARE, European football’s anti-discrimination and social inclusion network, the D Word guide offers the sports media ideas and action points to help tackle worryingly low levels of diversity across all areas of the industry.

 

YOU CAN DOWNLOAD THE D WORD GUIDE HERE – The D Word Guide

 

It also highlights the black community’s experience in the sports media in 2014, where only one presenter and one editor were involved in coverage of the major sports events last summer across mainstream national television channels. Meanwhile in the written press – no black football writer from the national press went to the World Cup.

 

The guide – which covers all areas of diversity – also underlines the fact that there has never been a black sports editor at a newspaper, nor has there been a black sports columnist that has not been a professional athlete at the highest level.

 

The contributions to the guide are taken from a national conference held in London last year – where heads of sports channels, editors, producers, writers and representatives from across the sports media came together to debate and discuss how best to address the lack of diversity in the industry.

 

BCOMS founder and sports journalist, Leon Mann, said: “The black community continues to make a significant impact in sport on the field, track and in the ring, but away from the action the levels of diversity are dire. The same can be said for other groups who contributed to this guide.

 

“The sports media has got better at covering issues of under-representation, but it has needed to have a look at itself in the mirror for sometime. The D Word conference presented that opportunity. Now we hope the D Word guide can help to drive change. The situation as it is, is uncomfortable to say the least and must be addressed.”

 

Notes

• For further information on BCOMS please click here
• For more information on FARE please click here

English football has it’s first black director of football in the shape of Les Ferdinand MBE at QPR – and I’m buzzing about it.

OK there aren’t, and haven’t been, an awful lot of directors of football in the game’s history – but I’m incredibly pleased to finally see the black community represented at this level in the sport’s structures.

Let’s face it, away from our 25 per cent of black players on the pitch we have little or no representation.

This position is far more powerful than sitting in the dugout every Saturday as the manager. It offers genuine power and influence.

It offers an opportunity to create a culture and structure that sees both the team and club (business) flourish and grow. It also offers far more time in the role to make an impact.

And ‘Sir Les’ is just the man for the job. Not because he’s a QPR legend – although that will make it a popular move with the fans – but because he has an understanding of the boardroom and tremendous experience of all aspects of professional football at shop floor level.

Just last year Les graduated from a corporate governance course set up by former Premier League footballers – Jason Roberts MBE, Michael Johnson, Darren Moore, David Barnett – Managing Director of the Governance Forum, Professor Karl George MBE and myself.

Sport On Board, funded by the Professional Footballers’ Association, was designed to offer the industry board candidates who had played the game and were from diverse backgrounds.

On both counts the course had an open goal to aim, as football’s boards are not very diverse. Actually, scrap that – sport’s boards are not very diverse, at all.

A study last year revealed only 14 BAME people across 449 boardroom positions. Meanwhile, there are very few former pros on football’s boards.

However, it would be misleading to suggest Sport On Board got Les the QPR role – it didn’t – but it is worth considering the following?

Did the course offer him added confidence about taking on the position? Maybe.

Did it teach him a set of skills that will help him in the role? Almost certainly.

Did it give him a firm understanding of good governance and decision-making? Absolutely.

Good luck to Les, hopefully he is the first of many Sport On Board graduates to be given an opportunity.

 – This column first appeared in The Voice Newspaper