“The scout told me they don’t take on Asian players” – where are the South Asian footballers?

With South Asian players conspicuous by their absence at all levels of professional football, cultural reasons are often cited as a major factor. However, as Basit Mahmood reports, there are often barriers that have more to do with the prejudice of football’s gatekeepers Only 12 out of over 3,700 professional football players in England and… Read More

Football Beyond Borders

by Shane Thomas Walking up to a floodlit pitch near Oval Station, the first thing that struck me were the sounds. The thwack of boot on ball, and the skid of rubber sole on sandy astroturf. A cacophony of onomatopoeia, and a mnemonic that made me wistful for my own teenage years. This was all… Read More

Let’s Talk Diversity in Sports Journalism…

…There is none by Amit Singh The statistics on BAME participation in the media industry are shocking. As Lenny Henry commented, the situation has ‘deteriorated badly’  with the number of BAME people working within the UK television industry falling by 30.9% between 2006 and 2012. . Some news outlets such as Channel 4 are trying… Read More

“There is no racism in football… If you are good, you get the job”

Much talk has centred around the NFL’s, “Rooney Rule” as a panacea, which ensures that at least one person of colour must be interviewed when a head coaching position becomes available. It’s said that such a measure could offset the paucity of managers of colour in English football.
More recently, Sir Trevor Brooking, the former Director of Football Development at the FA said he was against such a regulation, offering choice quotes such as, “Some black coaches say they’re not given a chance, but I do think a lot of them have to get themselves in that position”, and, “There is a reluctance from people sometimes and they feel it should be handed to them.” Read More