Football Black List co-founder Leon Mann outlines why he thinks the initiative remains necessary
Every year, the same questions. Fans want to know why there is a need for the Football Black List, writes Leon Mann.
Some go as far as calling it racist – as it excludes white people. While others ask whether I would support a Football White List?
I used to get angry with these messages. Now, I see them as an opportunity to highlight exactly why – even after 10 years of this initiative – the game needs this more than ever.
For those unfamiliar with the Football Black List, it shines a light on people of African and Caribbean backgrounds in the game. It celebrates black people who are making waves in British football with their activities away from playing. This could be a manager, senior administrator, a player doing charity work or a community hero working wonders at grassroots level.
To truly appreciate why such a list is important to football, understanding the context is vital.
Almost half of the England squad (47 per cent) at the World Cup in Russia this summer had roots in the black community. In the Premier League and EFL it is estimated that black professional players make up more than 30 per cent of the total playing population.
The contribution of footballers from African and Caribbean backgrounds has long been significant. Pioneers from the 1970s such as Cyrille Regis, Brendon Batson, Laurie Cunningham, Viv Anderson and Clyde Best, opened the doors for the likes of John Barnes, Ian Wright and Rio Ferdinand, who in turn helped to inspire the superstars of today – Raheem Sterling, Joe Gomez and Dele Alli to name just a few.
But when you look at every area away from those playing it is a very different situation.
In the dugout, there are just seven managers from a BAME (Black Asian Minority Ethnic) background across the 92 professional clubs. Across all the senior coaching roles at the clubs just 4.6 per cent are filled by BAME people, according to research from the Sports People’s Think Tank (2017).
At boardroom level, Burton Albion’s Ben Robinson is the only British owner or chairman of a club with black roots. He did his first stint as chairman in 1976 – and still remains the only one. Les Ferdinand and Brian Tevreden, at QPR and Reading FC respectively, are the only black directors of football across the 92 clubs.
In the sports media, BCOMS (Black Collective of Media in Sport) recently revealed that just one black journalist was sent to cover the World Cup out of 63 in Russia with the national newspapers.
In every single area of football – be it management, administration, player representation, media or medical – black people are heavily under-represented.
This is why myself and sports journalist Rodney Hinds created the Football Black List. The concept is simple but powerful. We shine a light on black excellence in the game. This helps to inspire and encourage other people from the black community to follow in their footsteps and create change.
The list gives deserved recognition to those who are often overlooked at industry events and, importantly, highlights a pool of successful individuals to employers in the sport looking for diverse and dynamic talent.
The initiative is not the sole answer to a complex and deep-rooted problem but it is part of the solution. Alongside structural and proactive measures put in place by the football industry leaders we can make a real impact.
And change is happening. Some key developments in recent years include the Football Association adopting the Rooney Rule across every position at the governing body and recently adding a BAME coach to every England set up.
The EFL showed leadership by putting in place a mandatory recruitment code at academy level for coaches, which has had some positive results. Meanwhile, the Professional Footballers’ Association have been funding a corporate governance course aimed at BAME former players and the Premier League have made nine places on their annual Elite Coach Apprenticeship Scheme (ECAS) available to BAME and female coaches.
The question then is change happening quickly enough? No – in my opinion. But the current levels of commitment and openness to positive action initiatives – such as the Rooney Rule – compared to 10 years ago when the Football Black List was launched are markedly different.
As for a Football White List, without the same context as the Black List it serves no real purpose. White role models are highly visible in absolutely every position imaginable and are awarded regularly by the industry. When the black community and other minorities arrive at this point – an argument to confine the list to the history books may well have some legs. But for now, we will continue to celebrate those who deserve recognition and provide inspiration to the next generation.
Soccer Accumulator Bonus
Our fantastic Euro Soccer accumulator offer gives you the chance to earn a bonus of up to 100% on accumulators on the top domestic leagues in Europe along with the group and knockout stages of the Champions League.
This offer applies to returns on pre-match accumulators of 3 or more selections on Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for the English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga 1 or UEFA Champions League.
The maximum bonus that you can receive is ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. The bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based .on the remaining active stake. If a qualifying bet is edited .using our Edit Bet feature. The bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply. Double Chance bets or combination bets with bonuses. Such as Lucky 15’s or Lucky .31’s do not apply for this offer.
If your bet is successful, we will add the following bonuses to your returns:
Bet Type Bonus
14-folds and upwards 100% bonus
Terms and Conditions
Applies to straight pre-match accumulator bets on the Full Time Result or Result/Both Teams To Score markets for UEFA Champions League, English Premier League, Italian Serie A, Spanish Primera Liga, German Bundesliga .1 or Australian A-League matches. Maximum bonus ˆ100,000 or currency equivalent. Soccer Accumulator Bonus does not apply to Double Chance bets or combination. bets with bonuses such as Lucky 15’s, Lucky 31’s etc.
If any selections are postponed/void then the bonus will still apply, but the percentage bonus added will reflect the actual number of winning selections. For example, an 8-fold accumulator with 7. winners and 1 postponed match will receive a 30% .bonus to returns.
The bonus part of your returns will be added to your account within 24 hours of your final selection having played.
This bonus will not apply where a stake has been fully Cashed Out. Where a stake has been partially Cashed Out, the bonus will be calculated based on the remaining active stake.
If a qualifying bet is edited using our Edit Bet feature, the bonus will be calculated based on the new stake. Where a bet has been edited to include or amend a selection for an event that is In-Play, the bonus will no longer apply.
Where any term of the offer or promotion is breached or there is any evidence of a series of bets placed by a customer or group of customers, which due to a deposit bonus, enhanced payments, free bets, risk free bets or any other promotional offer results in guaranteed customer profits irrespective of the outcome, whether individually or as part of a group, bet365 reserves the right to reclaim the bonus element of such offers and in their absolute discretion either settle bets at the correct odds, void the free and risk free. bets or void any bet funded by the deposit bonus.
In addition bet365 .reserve the right to levy an administration charge on the customer up to the value of the deposit bonus, free bet, risk free bet or additional payment to cover administrative costs. We further reserve the right to ask any customer to provide sufficient documentation for us to be satisfied in our absolute discretion as to the customer’s identity prior to us crediting any bonus, free bet, risk free bet or offer to their account.
All bet365 offers are intended for recreational players and bet365 may in its sole discretion limit the eligibility of customers to participate in all or part of any promotion.
bet365 reserves the right to amend, cancel, reclaim or refuse any promotion at its own discretion.
