You need look no farther than Fabio Capello’s England squad to see the
contribution that the black community is making to football. There are 12
black players in the party to face France next week. But what impact are
black Britons making away from the pitch?
The black community has had a long relationship with the game, dating back to
the 19th century, when Arthur Wharton became the world’s first black
professional footballer, making his debut for Preston North End in 1889. And
it is nearly 30 years since Viv Anderson became the first black player to
pull on a senior England shirt.
Today, about 30 per cent of the country’s professional footballers are black —
and that figure will almost certainly increase.
In compiling a list of the most influential black people in football, one of
the aims was to highlight the achievements of the African-Caribbean
community on and off the field.
It would have been easy to have gone for the most recognisable or famous black
people in football, but I felt that “The Black List” should acknowledge
those helping to shape the future of the English game in all areas and
proving that it is possible to break through the glass ceiling.
After canvassing the opinion of the FA, Premier League, Professional
Footballers’ Association (PFA) and a number of other bodies and respected
individuals in the sport, The Black List blossomed, unearthing some
relatively unknown names.
Here is a selection from the list of 30. That it features only one black chief
executive and two managers across all 92 Premier League and Football League
clubs is a stark reminder of how disproportionate is the involvement of the
black community in the higher echelons of football.
Inevitably, there will be people who disagree with some of the choices.
Indeed, some may feel I have got it completely wrong. But as long as there
is a debate about who should be included, it means that there are more than
30 members of the black community contributing at the highest level of
football.
My hope is that in years to come we will be debating a top 50 that will
include a number of chairmen and chief executives — perhaps even an England
manager.
Rio Ferdinand
England footballer and entrepreneur
Fans will be well-acquainted with the Manchester United and England defender’s
talents on the pitch, but Ferdinand is the only active footballer included
on the list because of his work off the field.
Ferdinand has set up a catalogue of companies, including a successful property
company; his record label, White Chalk; and a television company, Next
Generation TV and Film, with which he made his debut as a presenter and
executive producer in Rio’s World Cup Wind-ups.
Away from commercial activities he is a supporter of The Prince’s Trust, the
Respect Your Life, Not a Knife campaign run by the Damilola Taylor Trust,
and an ambassador for football’s anti-racism campaign, Kick It Out.
Garth Crooks
Football consultant
Crooks is one of the most recognisable figures in the game and was appointed
OBE in the Queen’s Birthday Honours in 1999 for his services to football.
The former Tottenham Hotspur forward became the first black chairman of the
PFA in 1988 before retiring from the game in 1990. He
has since been chairman of the Football Foundation’s grassroots advisory
group, a special adviser on football to the Commission for Racial Equality
and a committee member of the Independent Football Commission.
He has enjoyed a high-profile media career as a match analyst for the
BBC since 1982, reporting from the leading international tournaments. He can
be seen on the BBC’s Final Score programme every Saturday as a pundit.
Lord Ouseley
Chairman of Kick It Out
Herman Ouseley set up the Let’s Kick Racism Out of Football campaign in 1993,
when he was chief executive of the Commission for Racial Equality. The
campaign, now called Kick It Out,
has been widely acknowledged as one of the most effective and well- respected
in sport. Ouseley is a trustee on the Manchester United Foundation Board.
Heather Rabbatts
Executive deputy chairman, Millwall
Rabbatts was headhunted by Millwall’s millionaire plc chairman, Peter de
Savary, as executive deputy chairman in May 2006. With a hugely impressive
CV, the lawyer, businesswoman and broadcaster is now running the show at the
New Den and few doubt that she will succeed in turning around the
underachieving South London club.
Shortly after her appointment, she said: “My track record has always been
about pushing back the boundaries and that’s what excites me. I have this
saying: ‘It is better to live one day as a tiger than a hundred days as a
sheep.’ ”
Chris Nathaniel
Football agent
One of the up-and-coming young agents on the scene. Having started out in the
music industry, he began working in football after negotiating a
seven-figure commercial deal for John Terry, the Chelsea and England centre
half. He has gone on to work with Rio Ferdinand, Micah Richards, Obafemi
Martins and Ryan Babel.
Jason Rockett
Chief executive, Sheffield United
Rockett is the only black chief executive across all 92 Premier League and
Football League clubs in England. He played for Rotherham United and
Scarborough before retiring from the game in 1998.
In the latter years of his playing career, he began to develop skills that
would lead to a full-time role in commercial property. From there he worked
up to surveyor and director with the Scarborough Development Group, owned by
Kevin McCabe, the Sheffield United chairman. He was appointed chief
executive of Sheffield United in 2005.
Bobby Barnes
Assistant chief executive of the PFA
The highest-ranking member of the black community in the administration of the
professional game. The former West Ham United winger has been tipped to
progress further in years to come.
Having enjoyed a long playing career that also took him to Hong Kong, Barnes
worked as a financial accountant for an insurance company when he retired
before being appointed a financial executive by the PFA. He is now involved
in a number of areas of the organisation’s operations, including helping
members to negotiate new contracts with their clubs.
Brendon Batson
Sports consultant
A pioneer on and off the pitch, Batson has contributed a great deal to the
game and it was no surprise when he was appointed MBE for services to
football in 2000. He was one of most high-profile black footballers in the
Seventies and Eighties, playing for teams including West Bromwich Albion,
Arsenal and Cambridge United.
After retiring he established himself as one of the PFA’s senior
administrators, rising to become deputy chief executive, and was
instrumental in developing the organisation into one of the most important
trade unions in the country.
In 2002, he returned to his beloved West Brom for a spell as managing director
and is now a consultant on disciplinary and equality issues for the FA, as
well as the executive chairman of the sports players’ union, the
Professional Players Federation.
Chris Powell
PFA chairman and Charlton Athletic player-coach
When taking on the role of chairman of the players’ union, Powell said: “My
aim is to represent all the players in the PFA and that includes all the
divisions and even members in the Conference. The principle of the PFA is
equality of treatment for all and I believe in it.”
One of the most well-liked players in the game, the former England left back
is expected to move into football management when he decides to hang up his boots.
A big supporter of community initiatives set up by his clubs and the PFA, it
is no surprise that an online petition was created to ask Gordon Brown to
award Powell with a knighthood for his “work and support of his local
communities”.
Paul Ince
Milton Keynes Dons manager and former England captain
The former hard man, known as “the Guv’nor”, is now proving his abilities off
the pitch. One of only two black managers in senior professional football in
England, he has recently been linked to managerial positions at Barclays
Premier League clubs because of his success with MK Dons, having saved
Macclesfield Town from relegation from Coca-Cola League Two last season.
Many in the game believe it is only a matter of time before England’s first
black captain becomes the Premier League’s first black British manager.
- A list of the 30 most influential black people in football will be published
on Monday in The Voice, Britain’s leading newspaper for the black community.
Leon Mann is a former spokesperson for Kick It Out, football’s anti-racism
campaign in the UK, and also the Football Against Racism in Europe network.
He works for BBC Sport and remains passionate about equality issues in the
game.
I think that it is good that Black Britains as wel as Black people in general are becoming more noticed in football. It seems that some of the Stereotypes about black people are slowly disolving, whith this hopefuly we will see Managers of Football clubs in the Premiership have the courage and intelligence to consider a Black man for a managers role withe their club.
Sasha Foran, Nottingham, England