THE ENGLAND men’s coach voiced his deep pride in the likes of Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho and Raheem Sterling in taking a stand in the wake of the deaths of George Floyd, Ahmaud Arbery and Breonna Taylor in the United States.

“They never cease to impress me,” Southgate said. “For lads that are so young, their thoughts on things, their willingness to speak up on critical matters, their recognition that they can affect the world outside their own game.”

Southgate spoke to the Black Collective of Media in Sport (BCOMS) and national newspaper journalists as part of a video press conference to mark what should have been England’s first game at Euro 2020, which has been postponed to next year due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

“We need to hear from white voices as well because ultimately very often they are going to be the people at the moment to make decisions to open up opportunities to make a difference.”

Gareth Southgate

“I think they recognise that they shouldn’t just sit back and be happy to be players, they can make a difference, they know the journeys they’ve been on in their own lives and what difficulties they’ve faced, where they see other kids in those areas where they’ve grown up and have a chance to make a difference to them.”

The former Under-21 manager also called for white people to speak up about current issues. 

“People have spoken brilliantly in the last week, people I’ve had the good fortune to meet and work with.

“People like Troy Townsend, Chris Grant and  David Olusoga. There are some really powerful messages and a lot of those will be uncomfortable for white people in particular but they’re critical voices to be heard. 

“It’s important that we hear from those black voices but we need to hear from white voices as well because ultimately very often they are going to be the people at the moment to make decisions to open up opportunities to make a difference. We are the ones that have to be educated.”

Suffering

Southgate reiterated that those suffering backlash from speaking out have to push through. 

“We know that anyone that speaks out is going to be criticised and people have to be brave and accept there is going to be criticism.

“You have to hope people like Troy [Townsend] who’ve received criticism aren’t put off by that, he’s got to keep doing what he’s doing and fighting that fight and not lose the energy from a negative reaction.”

The former Middlesborough manager went on to talk about ‘white privilege’ and how he’s become more aware of it.

“If I was to be brutally honest, I wasn’t aware of the privilege part when I was playing, I have to be honest about that and I think part of the reason was I didn’t look farther than the football part and the football was of the few areas that were a meritocracy,”

“As I’ve got older and gone into other roles, I’m far more aware of it, I’m fortunate to be invited to boardrooms and sit in meetings with federations that have a big influence and frankly, I’m better educated now in this area, not only with the people I mentioned who have been in to speak to us but just my observations of life and my age.”

Role

Candid Southgate even revealed that landing his managerial role with the Teeside club was an act of privilege.

“I know I got an opportunity at Boro when I wasn’t qualified,” he admitted.

“That came because I had worked at the club and the owner knew me, but I couldn’t say that opportunity would be there for somebody else,”

“I think we’re all very conscious of it, the power of what’s happening at the moment is that right across the world, people are standing together and these observations and these deeper seated issues are being talked about rather than the horrendous incident that we saw that has triggered all of this that is beyond belief but is rightly leading to the broader debate on opportunity and privilege.” 

Black players make up a third of players in the four tiers of professional football in England but those numbers are not reflected in club management.

Only six of the 92 clubs currently have black managers; Darren Moore of Doncaster Rovers, Northampton Town’s Keith Curle, Sol Campbell’s Southend United, Sabri Lamouchi of Nottingham Forest, Oldham Athletic’s Dino Maamria and Nuno Espírito Santo of Wolves.

Representation

“We lack that representation,” Southgate said on the lack of representation of diversity in the dugout. 

“The biggest crime would be if there were adults looking at kids that they sit and think that a path in life isn’t possible and not accessible.

“I heard Jermain Defoe talking a few a days ago saying ‘is it worth taking my qualifications?’ and that’s what we have to avoid.

“The feeling that you can’t achieve something because that stops people going for it, we then have to make sure the opportunity is there when people are qualified and capable and then they have to grasp that opportunity and do well and if they can do well they will role model what’s possible to the next generation.”